B A N G
by odasoda
Summary: [ Borderlands 2 ] She's not what Pandora expected. She's headstrong, reckless, idiotic and quite frankly - stupid, but she has a heart that beats for what's right. She's determined to defeat Hyperion, along with her mentor Mordecai, Lilith, Roland, and secure safety for all of Pandora. She's not going to stop until she gets what she wants. She's Juno, and this is her story.
1. Baby Steps

_Ah, you want to hear another story, huh? Well, I've got time._

_Let's go back to when the so-called hero, Handsome Jack was attempting to take over Pandora, when our four train-wrecked vault hunters were barely getting their wings, when Sanctuary was finally established as a home to those willing to join the resistance, and when she arrived._

_A shy child willing to grow in areas she never believed were possible. She learned the ways of becoming a vault hunter by the drunkard, Mordecai and wanted to be exactly like him. As she grew older, she was headstrong, stupid, and idiotic, but never gave up that dream. She longed to be a vault hunter, and despite the warnings, the girl continued to take what she wanted..._

_Until one day, her life changed forever. _

_Now, get out of my face unless you want to buy something!_

* * *

"Focus on your target. Don't let them scare you. Now, hold up the rifle—just like how I taught you."

Gripping the cold metal, I moved the rifle up into my right shoulder and peeked through the tiny scope with my hazel eyes. One blinked, cursing to myself as I lost sight of the disgusting skag a few yards away from my location. Moving the gun towards the left, I regained contact with the crawling creature. It snarled into the air at nothing, sniffing the soft breeze with its tiny nostrils and clamped its mouth closed with a satisfying snap.

"Good. Ease your finger on the trigger, but be careful; you don't want to shoot him just yet."

Biting my lip, I felt my hand move down to the lever, knowing that if I inched my pointer finger any further, I'd surely shoot the creature and Mordecai would scold me.

"Move your aim to the head, and take a deep breath. Relax your muscles."

I pushed the rifle farther up on my arm, ultimately moving the machine so it allowed me to aim directly at the head of the skag. I knew what he was trying to get me to do. Mordecai would distract the animal, and hopefully open its mouth. From studying, I understood the mouth of a skag was its weakness. I realized Mordecai was waiting for me to take a breath, and so I did.

Clank!

Mordecai had tossed a small pebble off the edge we sat on, in which it flew towards the skag and landed a foot from it. The creature eyed us, growling with all the rage in its body and opened its mouth—

Bang!

I didn't even think; I just acted. I remember seeing the gleam of the bullet, shining the rays from the sun on the backing as it dove neatly into the skag's gaping mouth. The skag sputtered a bit, its body rolling upon the dirty ground and eventually meeting its demise. Even from that spot, I could see it's crimson blood leak into the green grass below. A grin appeared on my face as Mordecai slapped me on the shoulder.

"That's my girl! Awesome job!" he commended me and removed the weapon from my arms. I pouted; I've always liked his rifle. I had my own, but it was old and rusty from my training. Luckily, I was coming up on one year of training with Mordecai, and usually meant I'd be free to go on missions with the others. My frown was then replaced with another grin as I hopped up.

"Thanks Mordecai!" I answered and reached up to untie my blonde hair from the messy ponytail I put it in this morning. It raced down, reaching a little below my upper back and swung with the cold wind. I shuddered, and began to follow Mordecai, stepping over a few stones that blocked my way.

"What a great day," Mordecai commented on the weather, glancing up at the sun. It had gotten to the part in the day were if you were in the sun, it would be extremely hot and in the shade, it would be extremely cold. There's never a happy medium, but I expected that from Pandora.

"If you say so," I snickered.

"Hey Juno? I was thinking about the end of your training," Mordecai began after another awkward silence befell us. My eyes glinted with happiness as I shot an ecstatic smile up at him. Yes? "This Thursday will mark the end of training, and I have to make a tough decision." Yes! "I've decided to take you under my wing for another year." No!

"What? Why?" I demanded, feelings of anger and sadness rushing over me like a whirl pool. How could he do this to me? Mordecai knew how badly I wanted to be a vault hunter, and take down Hyperion once and for all. I mean—I know Roland just now found the whereabouts of four vault hunters, but they still could use my help.

"I'm sorry Juno. I don't think you are ready for this," Mordecai answered. "I couldn't stand seeing you get hurt. You've only killed skags or rahks. You haven't taken on one of Hyperion's robots. They are dangerous." I folded my arms across my chest, pouting.

"They are just pieces of metal. I can easily take them down!" I protested. "Look, give me a chance. Take me to a place where they roam and I'll bring you the head of one, or some barbaric shit like that. Come on Mordecai! You know how bad I want this!" I was practically gripping one of his arms now and attempting to use the old puppy dog eye trick. He grimaced, still shaking his head.

"Juno, no!" he finally began to argue with me, making me stop dead in my tracks. "I've known you since you were a little girl, and to think about someone that I care so much about die at the hands of Hyperion—" He paused, gripping me by my shoulders and proceeded to give me an extremely awkward hug. "I can't lose you, okay?" I bit my lip and allowed him to wrap his arms around me, not sure if I should struggle out of the tight hug.

"But Mordecai, I can protect myself. You've taught me all that I need to know," I informed him. "I'll make a deal with you. I go with you, Lilith or whoever wants to come on a mission and if I mess up at all, then I'll undergo another year. If I do amazing, which I will, you'll need to bake me a cake and throw me a party." I grinned brightly as Mordecai groaned in irritation, pulling away from me.

"Fine," Mordecai agreed and released me. "But if you even so much as get a scratch on you, that's it. I'm pulling you out of there." Shrugging my shoulders, I proceeded to grin up at him. I liked Mordecai, probably more than Lilith or Roland. I guess we just had that special bond. I mean, he was the one to rescue me from a bandit attack when I was six years old and ever since then, he became a father figure for me, and I loved him.

"Thank you Mordecai!" I happily sang and took his hands in mine, jumping up and down profusely. "You won't regret this."

We made it back to Sanctuary after a while, due to some stupid bandits that attempted to take us down with their tiny pistols. We bested them in nearly minutes of fighting. I wiped the sweat from my forehead and walked through the large gate, exposing the small city of Sanctuary. It sparkled like a beacon to all that have been ruined by Hyperion and Handsome Jack.

"We'll get you a mission to carry out. Most likely, you'll be with me," Mordecai informed me as we waited for one of the guards to lower the door. It took a few seconds to do so, and we hopped inside of the city. "You'll also have an ECHO, just in case we get separated."

"I've always wanted an ECHO," I added with a smile. We walked through the center of Sanctuary, and made a left. I knew where we were heading to; Roland's place. My heart beat fast in my chest, realizing that this wasn't a dream anymore. I was finally going out on my first mission. Giggling happily, I raced in front of Mordecai and propped open the door for him.

"Thanks kiddo" Mordecai remarked and ruffled my hair up before entering. Patricia Tannis remained at her desk, murmuring gibberish to herself and jotting down notes with a stubby, black pen. She didn't even acknowledge our existence as she swung her left hand up in the air.

"As discovered by Lilith, the rahks have no sensibility on whom to attack! They just fly around like a horny teenager, waiting to hump whoever and whatever passes by!" she began to shout. I scurried out of the room and followed Mordecai up the metallic stairs. The sound from my boots hitting them echoed throughout the paper thin walls until we reached the top. There were four bunk beds on the left, and a ripped-up couch on the left. On some occasions, Mordecai let me sleep on his bed while he took the couch. I smiled in remembrance, and then entered the next room.

"Hey guys."

We were greeted by Lilith, a siren avoiding Hyperion's radar. She gave us a tiny smile, her thin arms crossed over her chest and shifted her weight onto her left leg. She was the last person I met in Sanctuary when I arrived fifteen years ago; man, has it been that long? Seems just like yesterday I popped up.

"Hi!" I greeted her happily, hopping up on the counter next to her. "Guess who can finally go on missions now." Lilith flashed me a smile, nudging me with her elbow playfully.

"Nice one, kid!" she congratulated me. "You finally got Mordecai to give into you. That takes a whole lot of skill." Meanwhile, Mordecai pouted in the corner and folded his arms over his chest. "What's her first job gonna be, Mordecai?"

"Whatever you have available," Mordecai shot back.

"Well, we have one more vault hunter that needs to complete his task. Since Roland got captured, I want to send the guy out to rescue Roland from the Friendship Gulag located in the Dust," Lilith began. "Maya and Axton ran off to take care of the bandit control, while the double-weapon welder guy is taking care of a cult run by Incinerator Clayton that worships me—" She paused, whispering, "—kinda cool, right?" And then she stood back up to her full height. "The quiet one, Zero was the guy I had in mind for rescuing Roland. If he agrees, Juno can join him."

"I'm coming with them," Mordecai said almost automatically. Rolling her eyes, Lilith gave me a few bucks and asked me to go buy some ammo for my trip. I tiptoed out of the room, but my curiosity got the best of me. I hung back around the wall, still listening to their conversation.

"You can't keep her here forever, Mordecai," Lilith told him. "I know you care about her, but she's not a little girl anymore and you aren't her father." There was a pause.

"I know I'm not her father," Mordecai began. "But she's too headstrong. She thinks Hyperion is a joke, even Jack! You know you can't have that mindset around here, unless you are looking to be killed. If she can't be serious, Jack will kill her."

"Hyperion **is** a joke. She needs to learn how to be on her own. This isn't doing her any good with you hanging over her like a dead goose," she retaliated. "What happens if you die? What will she do then? She'll be confused because you won't be here to annoy the shit out of her."

"I don't care! I love her, Lilith and I will not lose her to that Hyperion bastard!" he roared. "I've lost too many people in the beginning of all of this mess. I will not lose Juno." I slipped away, shaking my head in confusion. What the hell is going on here anymore? No one can talk without getting into a fight. I mean, I understood why, but still. We were all adults here. With a sigh, I opened the door and walked back out into my home, Sanctuary.


	2. First Mission

Strapping the rifle to my back, I pulled myself in front of the mirror to ensure that I buttoning the strap correctly. The rifle hung against my back, making me lean backwards slightly as I adjusted to the weight. Sighing, I brushed a tuff of my blonde hair from my face and continued to look at myself, slowly drifting into a memory—

"_What's your name, little girl?"_

_The skinny man stared down at me, his head tilting like a bird perching on a tree above your head. He wore goggles on his eyes, so I could hardly see them. At first, I thought he was going to hurt me and I started to wriggle in his arms, looking around for my parents._

"_Mommy!" I gasped out, but the man pulled my small head back into his chest and cradled me tighter. _

"_Don't look, sweetie," he murmured and moved away from the wreckage. I saw flames rising in several of the homes around me, and screams still were heard. I was shaking with fear, nuzzling closer to this mystery man. "I'll protect you, it's okay." I didn't answer him, mostly because I was only six years old when this whole event happened. _

_They relocated me to Sanctuary, and I remembered sitting on one of the beds with three people standing around me. One was the skinny man from before, and the other was not so tall, but looked extremely tough and bold. The last was a woman, with bright eyes and a smile whisking itself onto her round face._

"_She's cute!" she complimented me and pinched my cheek. I gasped out and moved away from her hand, curling up into a tiny ball. My hazel eyes darted around, wishing my parents were here._

"_What's her name?" the burly man asked the skinny one._

"_She didn't tell me," he answered, and then looked down at me once again. "Maybe if we tell her ours, she'll tell hers."_

"_Well, hiya sweetie!" the woman purred, my hazel eyes moving towards her. "My name is Lilith, and I'm a good guy. I'm not going to hurt you." I shook a bit, and then glanced up at the new voice that rang;_

"_And I'm Roland." He forced a smile, but I knew it was fake. Shuddering, the skinny man began,_

"_I'm Mordecai."_

_That was it. I began to give out a childish giggle and sat upright, holding my arms out to Mordecai._

"_Mo-Morde-" I attempted to say, "Mordecai!" Lilith scoffed, holding her hand over her mouth as she moved to the next room. Laughing, Mordecai scooped me up and hugged me tightly._

"_Good job!" he chuckled._

"_My name is Juno," I stated with a small, goofy smile. He booped my tiny, round nose and grinned._

"_Hiya Juno."_

I smiled, wiping a small tear that had escaped from my hazel eyes. Ah, those were the days. I turned around and reached for a Jakobs pistol that sat on my bedside. It was a gift from Roland on my eighth birthday; my first gun. I smiled as the silver gleamed in the light above me and I shoved it into the pouch on my belt.

"Juno, are you ready?" a voice asked from the control room in Roland's place. I took in a deep breath, recognizing it was Mordecai's voice and moved away from my bed, heading into the cold room. Mordecai was the closest to me when I entered the space, while Lilith stood around the digital map of Pandora. They each looked up at me, and then glanced back down at the holographic images. Zero was there as well, but he stood more towards the back of the room. I had that feeling he was looking at me, despite his mask hiding his face and it creeped me out.

"Here's your ECHO, kid," Lilith began and stood up from her place around the table, handing me a small recording device. I grinned with glee and automatically began to play with it. "We can reach you and give you instructions through that, so don't lose it. If you do, we'll assume the worst and send out a search party." I felt Mordecai tense up a bit, but I ignored it.

"Cool!" I commented, making Lilith smile at my enthusiasm.

"Juno," Lilith continued. "This is not a game. You will be out there with dangerous criminals and robots that want to kill you. Zero can save your back at least one time, but you'll be on your own. Do you understand?" Nodding my head, I agreed.

"She'll have me too," Mordecai responded.

"No. We need you here," Lilith ordered him.

"I told you—"

"I don't want to hear it, Mordecai. You need to back off Juno. She's not going to get hurt," Lilith hissed in his direction. Mordecai paused in his mid-sentence, clenching his teeth together tightly, but released them.

"Anything else?" I asked softly with an innocent smile. Man, I couldn't wait to kick ass!

"What are robots weak to?" Lilith asked me. Easy.

"Corrosive damage!" I answered quickly.

"Good girl," she laughed softly. "That's all I can think of. Got anything you'd like to add, vault hunter?" Our eyes moved over to Zero, whom remained quiet for a few more moments, adding suspense into the conversation as he leaned up from the wall and unfolded his arms from around his chest.

"Don't get left behind," he answered darkly. With that, he spun around and leaped off the balcony. I blinked, wondering if I should follow or…?

"Go after him!" Lilith demanded, pointing at his direction. "He's gonna leave you behind if you don't hurry up!" Gasping, I nodded and raced after him quickly. Zero led me to the Fast Travel station nearby Roland's place and awaited my arrival. Once he caught sight of me, he immediately commenced with inputting our information. Awkwardly, I stood next to him and fiddled my thumbs while he did so.

"So… You vault hunt for long?" I asked him. I wasn't surprised when I received no answer from him; all I got was a wave of electricity move over my body. It tickled, but rattled my bones. Groaning, I gripped tightly onto myself as I was whisked away towards the Dust.


	3. Rescue Squad

One blink later, I found myself in the center of the desert. I coughed some sand out from in-between my lips and brushed it off, grunting in irritation. I hate sand, to be honest. It gets everywhere and never seems to go away. I ran a hand through my blonde hair, and then looked around wildly for Zero. He was already walking up the large, sandy hill towards a few Hyperion-like buildings. I quickly moved after him and attempted not to fall behind in the desolate wasteland.

"Hey, wait up!" I called after him. Man, he moved fast. Zero acted like he didn't hear, still approaching the building like a fox dotting through the forest. I pouted, but continued to race through the thick sand.

"Juno? You okay?" a voice echoed through my ECHO device. I rolled my eyes and held it up to my lips.

"Mordecai, go away," I answered with a hint of sarcasm laced in my voice.

"I just wanted to make sure you made it okay," Mordecai informed me. "How does it look? Can you make it?" I turned past a couple other buildings and spotted Zero, whom was buying some ammo at one of the vending machines.

"We just got here," I answered him and moved towards the entrance to the gulag. Nine, no; ten robots at least were protecting the area. Frowning, I pressed my back against the wall and drew in a sigh. "There's only ten. I can do this."

"Remember, if some robots die, they will send s-s-s-" Mordecai's voice began to break out. I frowned, shaking the device rapidly in my hands.

"Mordecai?" I questioned.

"J-J-Juno, can you h-h-" The ECHO turned to static for a moment, and then a new voice boomed through the device.

"Hiya pumpkin! It's me, the one and only, Handsome Jack!"

Zero perked up, glaring down at his own device. Jack must have recorded this message for all the vault hunters. I shifted the box in my hands as the voice continued.

"I realized that you guys are a bit too stupid to realize that you can't save Roland, so that's why I'm sending a couple of my bots to blow your brains out. Have fun, kiddos!" I growled, wanting to crush the device in my hand and a loud boom cracked across the sky. Craning my head up, I noted that the Helios space station was now glowing with a white light. It seemed to get closer, and closer until I realized it was spiraling directly at me. Zero pushed me out of the way of the meteor-like object, which as soon as it landed, began to transform into a large, robot with huge guns on its arms.

"Shit," Zero grunted and suddenly disappeared out of my sight. Replacing him was a hologram-like image of him. I launched myself upward, hearing the robot begin to 'beep' repeatedly before it let out a wild range of attacks. The bullets followed me until I reached a small rock to hide myself. Shortly after the bullets ceased, I removed my pistol and began to shoot at the robot. I sunk a few bullets into his gun-like arms, and eventually, one fell off and made the robot squeak out in pain.

Clink!

Zero re-appeared, slicing off the other arm with his sword. The robot moved again, until it crashed down onto the ground in a pile of burnt metal and deadly smoke. I coughed, waving my hand over my mouth. What a mess that was.

We moved through the rows of robots, managing to murder every single one that came our way. There were a couple tough ones, and I will admit, my shield was damaged quite a bit, but I sought out revenge and always found it. Finally, we reached the area Hyperion held Roland. I could spot him now; sitting in the cage looking angry as usual. I giggled and reloaded my sniper rifle, planning on taking out the large robot first before—

Kaboom!

The earth shook with a mighty force, nearly knocking me down. Zero grumbled angrily and knelt next to me, holding his shotgun tightly in his hands.

"Don't move," he ordered. I blinked.

"Why?" I questioned.

"I didn't think they'd send a constructor. I'll take care of it. Try to get the robots off my back," Zero informed me. Quicker than I could breathe, Zero disappeared once again and I was left alone. Narrowing my eyes, I squinted around the corner and heard a massive amount of gunfire. Zero was fighting a large, egg-shaped robot with a huge eye in the center. It occasionally opened at the top, sending out missiles that exploded around Zero. Luckily, he managed to avoid them.

Aiming at the robots, I shot at them with all the skills I learned from Mordecai. It worked for a while, until the constructor began to spot me. It sent a missile my way. Luckily I dodged it, but I still got hit with recoil. I hissed in pain, holding my sides and attempted to sit back up.

"Juno! I need back up!" Zero shouted through his mask, grunting with pain as he continued to battle the robots by himself. A power, a strange power, rose through my heart and into my whole body. I felt different, yet powerful—like I could take this guy on. I didn't want Zero to die; I didn't want to let Roland down. I clenched my teeth tightly and whipped out my rifle, feeling the emotions rush over me.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

One after another, I shot at the robots with extreme accuracy and the power in my stomach assisted me. One by one, they fell dead until I reached the constructor. Grinning, I raced out of my hiding spot and continued to aim at the eye.

I hit every single damn time.

The constructor only lasted another five minutes before it burst into flames and smoke. Zero panted, staring at me with confusion echoing onto his mask. I wiped the sweat from my brow and tucked the rifle onto my back once again before looking towards Zero.

"What? Never seen a girl kick ass before?" I teased him with a smirk, before rushing to assist Roland out of his cage.

"Well, Juno. Looks like you found your skill," Roland commented, as I unlocked the cage.

"Was that what that was?" I asked. He crawled out, grunting with pain and stood up, stretching his body.

"Definitely. I've never seen a skill like yours before," Roland responded and stretched a bit. "Ugh, thanks guys. I'm so tired of being cramped into cages." Zero nodded his head softly, but like if the conversation was over, he turned on his heel and walked off. I tilted my head, but I couldn't care less; we saved Roland. I gripped Roland's arm, hoping to help him to his home.

"Come on, let's get you back to Sanctuary!" I told Roland, whom smiled and pushed my arms from his own.

"That sounds nice. I just want to go home and curl up in bed," Roland informed me with a chuckle and began to hobble down the wrecked steps. I laughed, and began to gather some money that had fallen on the ground from the fight. Suddenly, I heard my ECHO begin to buzz. I lifted it up to my ear, half-expecting it to be Mordecai but—

"Obviously, you are new here, sweet heart. Although I admire that you demolished my constructor your first try, well he was going through some programming changes so he was way too easy for you, but you are playing a dangerous game, pumpkin. I suggest you turn your pretty face away, and let the adults handle this."

Smirking, I lifted the device up to my mouth and answered,

"Tempting offer, but nah. I'll do whatever I want." I could sense Jack sneering, which made me laugh.

"Oooh, tough bitch, aren't we?" he began through the device. "What's your name, pumpkin?" My finger fell on the 'respond' button.

"Juno, and I'm here to kick your ass, Jack."

Without another word, I ended the call and began the long walk to Sanctuary.


	4. Job Well Done

"Good job, guys!" Lilith congratulated both Zero and me as we entered the control room around afternoon-ish. I plastered a large smile on my face and brought my arms up above my head, stretching for a brief moment while Zero returned to his 'hole-in-the-wall.' I'm glad we made it out okay; it was very chaotic back there. Luckily with Zero by my side, we were invincible.

"Thank you! It's really all thanks to Zero. He did most of the work," I reminded her and turned to look at Zero, whom nodded his head slowly.

"She hid," Zero responded. Gasping, I threw my arms down from their stretching position and glared him down.

"So, all that action back there was me hiding, huh? Geesh. What a joke," I growled in my own defense. I mean, there was a couple times I found a good hiding spot to hold my sniper rifle up and take the robots down from the tall heights, or when I needed to recharge my crappy shield. Zero merely shrugged his shoulders and continued to keep his arms crossed over his chest. I huffed and looked back at Lilith, whom continued to smile sneakily.

"Aww, was someone scared?" she teased me. My face turned red with anger and embarrassment, but before I could rebuttal her, Roland stepped in-between us. He's a decent mediator when we needed him. He sent me a sharp warning glare, so tucking my arms behind my back, I rocked back and forth on my heels and attempted to look innocent.

"No. I felt perfectly fine," I answered cutely. Roland nodded his head curtly, accepting that answer instead of blowing a fuse. As soon as he turned his back, I stuck out my tongue at Lilith.. Then, I realized—no one was nagging me. Where was Mordecai? Normally, I would have felt at peace for once, but I kinda missed the bugger. "Where is Mordecai?"

"That's just what I was about to tell you," Roland began in his deep voice, walking over to the map in the center of the room. "While you two were out, Mordecai traveled to the Tundra Express to gather some intel about where Jack may be hiding the vault key." Ah, the vault key. That weird thing was basically the only thing in the way of disaster for all life on Pandora. If Jack got his hands on it, who knows what would happen. I gulped nervously, but continued to listen to Roland. "After we hear from him, we may be able to get the key and stop that Hyperion bastard from ruining us."

"Okay, soooo… Can I go out there and check on Mordecai?" I questioned, leaning forward and smiled cheekily. "Pretty please with a cherry on top? I did amazing with my other mission!"

"Sorry Juno. Maya already took it," Lilith answered. "Maybe... Well, I do have one quest you can do. It involves delivering something." Ugh, not a delivery job. I wanted something with action and suspense! Putting my hands in front of me, I gave them an innocent smile and spun on my heels.

"No thanks. I'll just goo… Look around Sanctuary!" I answered, sort of suspiciously and hopped onto the railing of the balcony. "I do need to check up on a few people. Ya know, friends and all—" Before they could respond, I lunged down onto the ground and raced off towards Marcus's store. Psh, I was going to the tundra. I worry about Mordecai. He drinks too much, and I know he's an excellent shot when he's drunk, but still.

Before I went to the Sanctuary gates, I trotted down the steps, where rubble from the ceiling laid on each step and a fallen health machine cowered in the corner. When I got further down, the walls became darker and a musty scent plowed into me. I coughed, waving my hand in front of my face, but continued into the dimly-lit room. I could spot Marcus standing behind bars with a weird grin on his face and cracked his knuckles. I shivered; gross.

"Welcome, valued customer!" he greeted me with a wide grin. "What can I interest you today?" Marcus leaned forward, the smell of whiskey pouring into my face. I coughed once again and grunted in discomfort. "Ammo? A new gun?"

"Well, actually—"

"I knew it, Juno! You don't want anything. Ugh, little girl if you are going to be a nuisance, get out of my shop!" he snarled, his personality switching faster than a light switch. I blinked my hazel eyes, confused and carefully sat a wad of cash down in front of me.

"I want a shotgun," I stated carefully. Marcus's eyes lit up at the sight of the money and grinned wider than before, letting out a squeak of delight. I remained there, terrified of this strange man and his ways of treating his customers.

"Why didn't you say so?!" Marcus leaped up, snatching the cash and whirled around like a tornado. Digging through a bin, he placed a couple of decent looking shotguns in front of me. Rubbing my hands together, I began to examine each and every one of them. I took a liking for one of the Hyperion shotguns. Its sleek design made it attractive to the eye, but it's power was super intense. I always chose the weapon with the most power; always. Although, I tend to get annoyed when the reload speed was extremely slow, then I might change my mind.

"I'll take this guy," I informed Marcus and held up the Hyperion shotgun. Grabbing the rest of the guns, Marcus shoved them back into the bin and pressed his palms together, still grinning wickedly.

"Pleasure doing business with you!" he stated. Pressing my pale lips together, I carried the gun in my left hand and walked back out into the pure light. I squinted and moved my hand, cupping it over my brow so I could see outside better. It burned a little due to being down in that dark room for too long, but I soon adjusted to the sunlight. Taking in a breath of fresh air, I made my way over to the large drawbridge-like gate that hosted an entrance to all that needed sanctuary. I waved at the guard, bidding him good-bye and waltzed forward, heading to another gate that could be opened if one dragged it across to the left.

"Sorry guys," I murmured under my breath as I left Sanctuary.

Blowing the brains out of the last bullymong, I took in a deep breath and reloaded my shotgun. These guys were tough, but not tough enough for me. I placed the gun at my side and continued to walk towards the entrance to the Tundra Express, noting that I could hear some sort of weird buzzing behind the wall. Squinting, I laid my hand on the crooked door and—

Brnnng!

I nearly screamed, falling back into the soft snow that buried my frame. My damn ECHO was received a call! I laughed when I realized what it was, moving the snow from my face and pawed at the box attached to my hip.

"Heeeeeeey, pumpkin!"

My eyebrows narrowed as my grip tightened on the box, shaking my head in defeat. Why? Why Jack? Why now? I held it up to my mouth and hissed in disgrace.

"What do you want?" I snarled. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

"Yes. Falling in snow counts as being busy," he retorted. How the hell—I looked up wildly, glaring at the giant Helios space station that sat directly in front of Elpis. Asshole. My gaze moved back down to my device and I drew in an irritated sigh. "So, I like how you are trying to be the hero of this little adventure. It's cute, honestly."

"Mhm," I answered and began to stand back up to my full height of five-foot six, brushing the snow from my black jeans. I kept one pants leg rolled up with a brace around my skin, which held a knife in it. I used it for emergencies; like if I ran out of ammo or something.

"—But you aren't. So I'd really, really appreciate it if you just turned back and went home to daddy Roland. Okay, pumpkin? Okay." Jack began. I rolled my eyes. What a joke this guy was.

"Nah, I'm fine. I'm not a coward that's afraid to show his face," I smirked. I never saw Jack in person, nor did I want to. He was a coward; he knew Roland could best him in a fight. That's why he never came down to fight us.

"Oh I'm not afraid to show my face," Jack answered. "So sweet of you to care though. It's one of my best aspects, among others."

"Ew," I snarled. "Good-bye and uh, ya know, go die." Sharply, I smacked the 'end call.' What an asshole.


	5. Late for Tea

A bitter cold wind blew through my bones, moving my dark-brown jacket move around my body in rhythm down towards its descent upon the snowy ground. Grabbing the jean-like fabric, I pulled the buttons through the tiny hoops and continued to make my way through the tundra. I should have brought a thicker coat for this weather, but due to me being ecstatic, I didn't even have time to think about the dangers of going out in the cold with just a slim jacket. The fact that I only wore short sleeved shirts didn't help the matter, and I almost considered pulling down my left pants leg, but soon I caught sight of the gigantic mountain side.

I spotted a few buildings near the horizon, as well as a tower and a railroad tracks that raced around the right mountain. I figured Mordecai had to be nearby, and up someplace high due to him being a sniper and all. Cautiously, I urged myself to move on and find my friend. I tossed the idea aside that Mordecai could possibly be in trouble, considering it had been a while since he attempted to ECHO me. That wasn't like him. Breathing in the cold, I found myself standing directly under a large set of bones that used to belong to some enormous beast. I wondered to myself what kind of creature would be that large to once roam Pandora, and I was glad that I wasn't around when it was still alive.

The buzzing grew louder now; louder than it was at the entrance. I grimaced, hoping it wasn't what I thought it was, but unfortunately for me, it was exactly what I was thinking. A mosquito esque insect roamed on the bottom of the valley, screeching softly to its brethren that remained in their little homes. Growling to myself, I began to load my rifle. There was no way I was going to be able to get around these pests. Varkids, in my opinion, were the worst creatures to roam Pandora- other than the annoying rahks. They attacked all at once, leaving time for one of their kin to transform into a full adult. It's almost impossible to stop the graduation from one age to the next, unless you put a few bullets into the growing sack of red goo.

"Juno! What the hell are you doing here?" my ECHO rang out. I ducked behind a block of ice when I heard one of the varkids scream and turn its head in my direction. "You are supposed to be safe in Sanctuary." I knew it was only a matter of time before Mordecai would realize I'm present.

"Just dropping in to say hi and make sure you are okay," I answered and moved the rifle to my shoulder.

"That's nice of you, but I'm doing fine on my own," Mordecai stated. "Don't move, okay? From where I can see, the varkids spotted you. I'm gonna get rid of 'em for you." Hissing under my breath, I quickly moved into position and eyed the disgusting bugs that were crawling my way.

"I got this!" I called out to him and held the gun up, peeking through the scope. I managed to snipe down the first bug, but the rest were coming too quickly. Grabbing my pistol, I returned to other means and shot desperately at the insects.

"Juno, god damn it! You are going to get yourself killed one of these days," Mordecai said through the ECHO. Shooting one of his bullets, they sunk into the nearest varkid and it struggled for it's last breath.

"Ah, come on Mordecai. You'd know I'd never let that happen to me," I shot right back at him with a wicked grin. Feeling that powerful feeling rush over me once again, I stepped in front of the crowd of varkids and switched to my Hyperion shotgun. They hissed again, squealing at the thought of having me for a meal and crawled faster. "Watch this." I unleashed the swirling vortex in my heart, causing it to pump wildly and I soon found myself surrounded by the dead creatures. One twitched on the ground, squealing silently until it met its demise. Huffing, I turned back to Mordecai and flashed him a grin.

"Holy shit. That's amazing, Juno!" Mordecai complimented me.

"I know right?!" I shouted back at him with excitement. I could clearly see him now; he was perched up on the tower a few yards from me. Bloodwing perched on his arm, flapping her wings happily at the sight of me. I loved that damn bird; she was so sweet yet so vicious. I raced towards the ladder and hauled myself up towards Mordecai's location.

"Look who it is, Blood!" Mordecai chirped towards his bird, whom pawed at Mordecai's pads on his thin arms. She acted like a puppy, ready to pounce and lick all over your face for attention. I giggled again and opened my arms for the vulture-like bird.

"Hiya Bloodwing!" I sang out. The bird flapped its wings, pushing itself into my outstretched arms and began to nuzzle me with her sharp beak. Closing my hazel eyes and hoping she doesn't poke out my eyes, I hugged her carefully.

"She missed you as you can probably tell," Mordecai remarked with a cheeky grin. I returned the smile while Bloodwing pat upon the pair of goggles I wore over my blonde hair. Happily, she smooshed her body down into a sort-of marshmallow figure and tucked her beak onto her back feathers. "How'd your mission go?"

"Ah, well I did simply fantastic!" I answered and went to sit down, being careful of Bloodwing who was now taking a quick snooze. "Zero thought differently, but I know I was of use to them. I even discovered my skill, or whatever Roland called it."

"Yeah. We all have one of those. Mine is to use Bloodwing," Mordecai commented. "From what I saw down there, yours looks to be... something with accuracy?" I nodded my head.

"That, and I seem invincible," I responded and folded my arms. "Sucks it only lasts for a few seconds." Mordecai laughed and wrapped his arm across my shoulder, pulling me closer to his thin body.

"I'm so proud of you," Mordecai murmured. For some reason, being that close to him made me feel weird and conflicting feelings. I thought of him as my dad, but recently, those thoughts have been changing. Grinding my teeth, I attempted to shoo away my feelings that surged deep into my stomach. It hurt, yet made me feel like I was on cloud nine. "Um, while you were gone, I was doing some thinking.

"Yeah?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah" Mordecai replied. "And um, I can't seem to find a moments rest because you are always on my mind." I bit my lip and looked back down at the ground. "I want you to know that I-I-" He paused, a blush shading upon his cheeks. "-I don't know. I care a lot about you, Juno."

"…Uh, yeah. I care about you too, silly!" I chirped, trying to diffuse the suddenly awkward interaction and took in a deep breath. I let it out, turning my head away from him and smiled, rubbing my left cheek. "You're still my old man though, Mordecai. You're like a father to me."

"I know, I know," Mordecai laughed nervously and brushed a strand of my thick blonde hair from my face. "I guess... I get so worried that one of these days, something will happen to either me or you, and I won't have a chance to tell you."

"Oh don't say that. We'll be fine," I answered him and then pressed my palms down onto both of my knees. "Well, uh, what do we do now?" Mordecai shot up, remembering something and picked up Bloodwing from my head. She cawed, irritated that he had woken her from her sleep.

"Oh yeah! We gotta get to Tina's place," Mordecai said and raced back to the end of the tower where the ladder was. Gasping, I stood back up and followed him over to the exit. "There's a Hyperion train passing by in a few hours. Pretty sure the vault key is secured in one of the cars. When we get to her place, I'll contact Roland."

"Oooh, a train!" I said with a bright grin as I raced after Mordecai. For a skinny guy, he ran like lightning. I found myself panting after him, occasionally pausing to catch my breath only to pursue him once again. "That sounds fun!"

"Doesn't it?" Mordecai shouted back at me. We traveled around the mountain side, a stream of water sparkling on the right side. I could see the reflections of the skies above, including several buzzards that belonged to the bandits. Frowning, I continued until—

"Woah, Juno!"

I nearly plowed Mordecai down, collapsing onto his back. My rifle clicked against my back uncomfortably, making me grunt in pain and peered around Mordecai's body.

"What? What?" I questioned dramatically, but when I saw what's in front of him, my eyes widened and I gripped onto his shoulders. It was a bomb, but not one of those tiny black ones— it was bigger than me!

"I'm glad we had that conversation before because we're probably gonna die," Mordecai murmured as a ticking sound echoed through the hollow base of the bomb. "Nice knowing you, Juno." Laughing, I gripped onto his hands and motioned for Bloodwing to fly upwards. She seemed to understand, leaping up into the cold air and soared into the blue sky.

"Not on my watch, mister!" I stated and raced through the minefield.

"Juno, god damn it!" Mordecai screeched at the top of his lungs as one by one, the bombs began to tick wildly. The original one we came upon soon blew up after five seconds of rushing through the area, followed by the next, and the next.

"Hahaha!" I laughed loudly, making sure I kept a tight grip on Mordecai. "Dude, this is awesome!"

"You are insane!" Mordecai laughed back at me. After dodging the ticking objects, we arrived at an opening in the mountain. It was frozen over inside, and I could make out a tiny building with a garage on the right. We slowly came to a stop, and then approached the garage. "Hey, Tina? You in here?"

"Hey hey heeeey!" a voice rang from the doors. Sparks raced out of the bottom of them, and the screeching of metal echoed throughout the cavern. "Just gimmie oooone sec! I'm almost done!"

"Who is Tina?" I asked Mordecai, poking him in the shoulder.

"The best damn bomb maker I've ever met," Mordecai chuckled in response. At this time, the doors rose and a tiny girl appeared. Her blonde hair was spiky, her eyes wide with wonder; which made me shudder because they sparked with insanity and cruelty. She skipped towards us, her skirt following her movements.

"Oooh, birdie!" Tina gasped and reached up to pet Bloodwing, whom cooed and allowed her to do so. "Such a pretty bird. Pretty, pretty, pretty."

"Good to see you Tina," Mordecai greeted the small girl. She flashed him a wide grin, and then looked back at me. Squinting, she hopped in front of me and poked me in the stomach.

"Squishy, heh. Hm, I don't recognize you," Tina began and began to press her hands into my cheeks. I gave her a strange look, confused on why she was so… weird? Is that the correct word to identify her? "What's your name, girlfriend?"

"Juno," I answered.

"Juno the Sumo!" she sang out, giggling hysterically at her joke. I raised my eyebrow, cracking just the teeniest smile. "It kinda rhymes, doesn't it? Maybe? Okay! Well, what can I help you guys with?" She then gasped, clapping her hands. "Are you here for a tea party? Oooh! I have a guest that's been DYING to party with me!"

Tina moved towards a small table with chairs surrounding it. In one of the chairs was a psycho, tied up with tight rope that continuously gave him burns on his neck since he was struggling. He snapped his jaws at Tina, moving his legs wildly.

"I want to rip you open and make your ribs into a guitar! Haha!" It growled, thrashing about. Tina made a 'tsk' sound and shook her head.

"Poor little guy. He needs to learn his manners!" she commented, and then turned to me. "Juno, won't you join us?" I blinked and looked up at Mordecai, whom held up his ECHO.

"Hey, don't look at me amigo. I gotta call Roland," he said. Pouting, I moved one of the chairs and sat down in it. The psycho shifted it's gaze onto me, snarling. I waved at him, and then turned it into jabbing my middle finger up at him.

"My, how rude Juno! He's our guest. We must be courteous," Tina reminded me and began to pour a light, green liquid into the tea cups on the cracked table. I watched her do so, keeping quiet and snatched one of the cookies. "Mister Butts-A-Lot, you look fabulous today!" She meant this comment towards the psycho, as he began to snarl louder.

"Shut up, bitch!" it hissed. I laid my hand on my pistol, narrowing my eyes at him. I felt my sister-like instincts kicked in. If he made another comment, I'd blow his brains out.

"And Juno, I love what you've done to your hair. So fetch!" Tina remarked and gave me a smile, drinking down the liquid in a quick gulp. I played along, running my hands through my blonde hair and gasped dramatically.

"Thank you, Tina m'dear! It took me AGES to get it done," I said with a grin. Tina poured herself some more tea, glancing at the psycho that had been complaining and wailing more insults. "Oh dear. It seems your guest doesn't know proper manners. May I teach him some?" I looked at her, questioningly.

"Hmmm..." Tina answered with a giggle and bit down on one of the chocolate cookies. The psycho wailed again, kicking at the chair legs. "Do it! He's being a little butthead." I didn't hesitate to whip out my trusted pistol and send a bullet into his brains. The psycho collapsed, his head nearing his chest as crimson poured from the hole in his head.

"So rude," I muttered, looking back up for Mordecai as Tina began to clean up the dishes. He looked frantic, always glancing back at me nervously and then turning back around. Frowning, I stood up from my seat and waltzed over to him carefully.

"Yeah, I know that," I heard Mordecai begin. "Maya is taking care of it? … Good. I don't want Juno to hear. She'll be upset."

"Upset about what?" I cooed, resting my head on his shoulder. Mordecai leaped back, letting out a surprised squeak and rested a hand on his heaving chest.

"Damn it Juno!" He yelped.

"Hi Juno," I could hear Roland greet on the other end of the ECHO. Grinning, I picked up the device from Mordecai's hands and held it up to my mouth.

"So what's shakin'?" I asked.

"…Mordecai informed me that the vault key was on the Hyperion train and one of the vault hunters in your area is accepting the mission," he answered.

"Oooh, I'll go with 'em. Could be tough," I said.

"Juno, we don't know what else is on that train. It could be a trap. Let the professionals handle it," Roland sighed, irritated. Smirking, I ran a hand through my hair and swooped it all to the left side of my round face.

"No promises."


	6. The Siren

"Damn, lookin' good ladies! That train is a lucky son of a bitch."

I rested my head on my hands, waking myself from my daydreams. I know I should have been paying attention to the conversation Mordecai and Tina were having; more specifically why Tina was putting bombs inside of two, fluffy, stuffed rabbit twins. I stood up from the seat, grimacing at the sight of the blood from the freshly murdered psycho. He still laid on the ground, his mask peeling off his pale face and received a dent in the middle from the impact. I always wondered what psychos looked like without their masks. They were once normal, stable humans like me, right? Or were they always this crazy? I tapped the broken mask with the toe of my black boot, rolling it off his crimson-stained head and peeked down.

His eyes were peeled open; light blue irises that nearly shocked me like a lightning bolt at the sight of how they bore into my soul. His nose was squashed from being under the mask, and his chin had a healing scar that ran from his cheek bone, and ended on the tip of his chin. The very sight of him was frightening, yet interesting. Why did bandits fight the way they do? Maybe they believed they had nothing else to lose, since they basically lost everything already. Sighing, I stood back up and craned my head to look at what the two were doing now.

"So this is Felicia Sexopants," Tina introduced Mordecai to her twin rabbits. "And Mushy Snugglebites. With their badonkadonks, they'll turn some heads and POW! Train go bye bye!" She clapped her hands manically, while Mordecai picked up the one named 'Felicia.' Mordecai made a face at the stained face. It's eyes were black with a little white dot to add innocence, and it's cheeks were painted with a light pink for blush.

"Nice to meet ya, ladies," Mordecai murmured, and looked back at me. His expression was blank; only his eyebrows rose in surprise. "Hey. Didn't expect to see you here so soon." I pointed at my chest, confused.

"I was here the whole time?" I asked.

"He's talking to me."

The voice sounded behind me. It was female, smooth like silk, but fiery and strong. It reminded me of Lilith's. I looked over my shoulder at a woman with blue markings running up and down her left arm. She wore a combat suit, much like the one I wanted back in my training days. There was this epic looking combat outfit that Moxxi was selling at her bar, and I had just enough money to buy it. However, when I tried it on, it didn't suit me. I was way too short at the time, so I had to give it back. Ugh. It would probably fit me now, but I liked my current uniform. My white t-shirt, black pants and black boots gave me that tomboyish vibe, and I loved that. Throw in my pair of grey goggles, my dark green, cotton slouchy hat and there ya go! Perfection!

"Oh, hey there!" I greeted the girl. I recalled Lilith telling me that Maya took the mission I wanted, so this must be Maya then. I gave her a wide smile, and she returned it.

"You are Juno, right?" she asked me. I nodded my head hyperly. Ah, I loved it when people recognized me. It made me feel extremely special; like someone took the time to get to know me or maybe they just knew my name from someone else. My energy drifted off a bit after realizing that, but I remained smiling. "Thought so. Roland warned me about you—that you steal people's quests."

"Oh my God," I groaned. Screw you, Roland. "I just want to help, that's all. I've been training for almost a year now, and I want to 'shadow' a vault hunter so to speak. I want to be a vault hunter someday, so yeah!" I folded my arms over my chest while Maya scoffed with a smile.

"Let's get these bombs in place," Mordecai butted in, tossing me the other rocket with the bunny attached. I reached out in the blink of an eye, managing to catch it before it rolled off my thin fingers and onto the ground.

"What do I need to do?" Maya asked Mordecai, lifting an eyebrow as she placed a hand on her hip. Mordecai shrugged his shoulders and continued to trudge through the snowy cavern, heading out into the sunlight. I followed behind him closely, noting that the sun fell after time. It casted a pretty orange glow throughout the tundra, echoing off the snow to cascade down onto the grass.

"Follow us. Won't be long before the action starts," Mordecai informed Maya, only turning his back for a few seconds. That's all it took me. I noted that there was a small bandit camp out in front of the stream Mordecai and I passed earlier before. If I could get rid of them, my friends could make it through there with no problems. Whipping out my rifle, I began to fire away at the bandits. Bloodwing perked up at the sound of the bullets and let out a hellish screech, flying from Mordecai's shoulder and rushed to my aide. She looked as tiny as a raven up in the sky, but when she dive bombed - oh boy. That was some scary shit.

Her talons enclosed on the throat of a marauder, instantly taking the bandit down with the fatal swoop. Blood splattered up onto her feathers, but Bloodwing didn't mind if it weighed her down. She continued to scratch and peck at the enemies, while I provided her with ground support.

"I turn my back for once second!" I heard Mordecai yell after me as I rushed into the camp. Grinning at the sound of his voice, I switched over to my shotgun and sneaked up behind a nomad. He was so focused on Bloodwing that he didn't notice me sinking three bullets into his thick head. He groaned, taking damage from the attack but he clenched on as hard as he could. Shoving me to the ground, the nomad moved his own shotgun to aim at me.

"Nice try, sweetheart!" he laughed. I watched his finger grip onto the trigger, and that's when my instincts took flight. I initialized my skill once more, completely disregarding the bullets that would have killed me. Confused, the nomad continued to shoot at me. I howled with laughter, kicking him in the crotch and used my pistol to finish him off.

Maya joined in the battle, using her siren powers to hold the enemies up in mid-air and shoot them with her assault rifle. Her powers were extremely badass. The enemy swirled in a blue-ish vortex, struggling for their lives as she pelted them. Soon, the bandits fell defeated. I stood up on one of the nomads, holding up my rifle and cheered with delight.

"We kick ass!" I shouted. Mordecai looked at me, obviously pissed off that I abandoned them to fight the outlaws. He clicked his tongue, signaling Bloodwing to return to his arm and approached me. I laughed nervously, tucking my rifle back and swung on my heels. "Am I in trouble?"

"Yes."

"How old am I, Mordecai?"

"21."

"Aaand... a half."

"Whatever."

"So you can't ground me, you can't be the boss of me and you can't take away my guns. That's rules for a five-year-old, and I'm not that age anymore."

"You don't get it!" Mordecai snapped, grabbing my arms and pulled me down to face him. Maya watched awkwardly for a moment, before realizing that she could burn more time placing the bombs. She sneaked off silently while Mordecai continued to scold me.

"No, I do get it Mordecai. I get you want to protect me, but I'm an adult now, okay? You need to step off. This is my life; I'll live how I want to with or without you in it," I admitted, feeling my face heat up. I knew that would hurt him, but I had to get it through his thick skull. "Did I get hurt? No! I'm fine!"

"But that nomad—" Mordecai protested.

"—Died!" I stated. "He died at my hand. I have a shield that will protect me, and I know when that breaks, I should find a place to hide and I do! I always do. Why won't you let me be happy for once? You know how much being a vault hunter means to me!" Mordecai paused, drawing in a sigh and shook his head shamefully. Even though I couldn't see his eyes through his thick goggles, I could tell his eyes were starting to well up with tears.

"I get it," Mordecai began. "You are grown up; you aren't that little girl anymore." He chuckled softly. "You were so cute back then. What ever happened?" I gasped, playfully punching him in the arm. I knew he was joking.

"Shut up!" I grinned.

"Never. I understand though, Juno. I won't be a burden to you anymore," Mordecai told me, looking up at me with a sincere smile. I rarely got to see it, so I felt kind of… honored. The first time I laid my eyes on his heart warming smile was back when I was six, and I went through this phase where I had a hard time pronouncing words. It's embarrassing to think about now, but I at least made Mordecai smile during it.

"You aren't a burden to me," I said. "You never were."

"If you say so. Good luck, you two," Mordecai murmured, and before I could even say anything, he began to make his way to the exit. Racing my hands through my hair, I quickly trotted over to where Maya stood and held my hands behind my back.

"Tell Tina to detonate them. Let's get this over with," I ordered her with a smile. "Ugh, this is going to be so exciting!" Maya lifted up her ECHO device, rolling her eyes at my enthusiasm and began to phone Tina. I leaned against the railing while the rockets took off, spiraling out of control. That's what we wanted. Felicia slammed into the railroad tracks, blowing the metallic pieces everywhere while Mushy went directly at the train. I pulled my goggles down my face as I heard the loud commotion from the impact of the train cars being derailed.

Smash!

One of the cars fell into the stream, floating in distress against the force of the water while an identical one hung off the icy cliff. I slid my goggles off my face and wobbled on my heels.

"That was awesome!" I commented with a wide grin.

"Sure was," Maya murmured and hopped down off the balcony we were currently on. Before I could even blink, I raced after her. We hopped across the lake, rushing up the fallen cars until we got to the top of the mountain side. Gasping for air, I practically threw myself up onto the ledge. "Hey Juno?"

"Yeah?" I answered and pulled myself out of the snow to face a very unamused Maya. Her left hand was plastered on her hip, one eyebrow raised and judgement was written all over her ghostly white face. Uh oh; I'm in trouble again.

"To be a vault hunter, you don't be lazy. You must be precise and correct. I don't know what we are going to face on this train, but you need to understand that you have to be on your guard. Do you understand?" she told me me. I blinked and nodded my head slowly, holding my shotgun tighter in my hands.

"Yes ma'am!" I answered her and gave her a small salute. Maya laughed softly and ruffled my tuff of hair.

"Let's get to work then."

Slowly but surely, Maya and I worked our way through the icy mountain. This was only my second fight with the Hyperion robots, so I had a general idea on what I was doing. I tried to focus by aiming at their red eyes, and most of the time, it worked! I commemorated myself, and continued to battle the metal beasts. I decided to switch to my sniper rifle, hoping to provide Maya more support as she was up and personal with our enemies. I peeked through the scope, aiming at their weak spots. It all seemed to be going well, but I let my guard down for too long. A black and yellow striped bot raced up towards me, and as it got closer, it erupted in a blinding blue light. I gasped and tried to get away, but it exploded before I got out of range. I let out a cry of pain as my body was thrown into the rocks behind me.

"Shit!" I hissed and tried to stand up, but my legs ached with intense anguish. I fell back down to my seat, hoping my shield would recharge faster so I could assist Maya. I felt my gaze move upwards, and I realized that Maya was already done. She panted, holstering her weapon and rushed to my aid.

"Jesus Juno!" she sighed and leaned down next to me. She pulled out a small syringe with a health sign on it. I clenched my teeth as Maya jammed it into my upper arm. Slowly, I felt my health return and I breathed out a happy sigh.

"I owe you one," I told her and carefully stood back up. "I'm sorry. I let my guard down."

"EXP loader got you?" Maya questioned.

"I think that's what it was," I answered and looked back at the pile of burnt metal that was once the robotic creature. "It got too close to me and exploded." Maya laid a hand on my shoulder, interrupting me.

"Don't get to comfortable during battles," she taught me. "You have to keep moving, even if you find the best sniping point. These robots are unpredictable." I felt so bad. I should have known, but I let Maya down. I was sure that I'm going to die in the next battle we have.

"Okay," I answered. "I'll remember that." Maya nodded her head and then took off once more, heading down the steep hill and towards a ravine. I could see empty cars laying in a messy pile around the area, and I gulped. This was the last of the train. If the key was on the train, it had to be in one of these.


	7. Catching the Train

"Something isn't right. Stay back here and don't move."

Maya, sticking close to the ravine walls and ducking behind piles of freshly fallen snow, made her way towards a yellow train car that bobbed up and down in the icy water. It creaked occasionally, due to the water rushing into the compartment and the metal rubbing against the ground. Holding up her rifle, Maya nudged the door with a soft tap. The train car groaned louder, and I felt vibrations spark underneath my feet. Gasping, I moved back when the ice began to break under Maya's legs. She cursed under her breath and rushed back to my position.

The car was lifted out of the hole in the ground, water spraying after it and rained down upon us. It hurdled out of control, heading directly towards Maya's small body. Unleashing her siren powers, Maya caught it in the same, swirling vortex which gave her more than enough time to avoid being crushed.

"You okay?" I asked her, an instinct of mine. She ignored me, pumping more ammo into her weapon. Her eyes never left the center of the battlefield, her eyebrows lifting in surprise and her mouth in a firm line. Maya looked nervous for once. Did I dare look? Squeezing my eyes shut, I cocked my head from out behind my hiding spot and laid my eyes on the weirdest looking robot ever; even though he looked extremely badass.

From his torso down, the man possessed loader bot legs that stood twice as high as my height. They were painted yellow like the normal Hyperion bot, but signs of stressing were cracking into the metal and paint. Judging by that and the aging in his face, he was a pristine expert. On his shoulder, the man had a mortar that circled around wildly, sending shots at Maya. She quickly pushed herself away from the attacks, the light spraying into the rocky texture and barely damaged the rock.

"Shit," I heard a voice ring from my ECHO. Snatching it off my belt, I held it up closer to my ear. "Get out of there, now! Wilhelm nearly killed us back in New Haven. We won't blame you if you come back to Sanctuary; we can think of something else." It was Roland, and he seemed extremely skeptical knowing that this thing called 'Wilhelm' arrived in the train and could possibly murder us.

"No, you can do it friend," a new voice echoed through the device. "I have faith in you. Stay strong and focus." I blinked. It couldn't have been Lilith's voice, and no way in hell was it Moxxi's or Tina's.

"Who is—" I started to question, before I realized one of the loaders spotted me with its tiny, red eye plastered on the right side of its upper body. It commenced with its attack, damaging my shield three-quarters of the way down. "Damn it." I rolled up and removed my rifle from my back. Quick, I gotta be quick about this. As a sniper, I barely gained any "up-front" confrontations with enemies. I preferred being secluded, and shooting down my enemy with one bullet. This time, however, would be different. I clicked my rifle into place and shot a round into the robot. It lost one of its arms, letting out a screech of pain and wobbled back into a slippery area. It rolled out of control, waving its single arm as it collided with another robot. They both went up in smoke, and when the smoke eventually died down, replacing them was a pile of burnt metal and the ice stained black with the fumes.

"Shoot the repair surveyors!" Maya ordered me, pointing one of her fingers up overhead. A bit bigger than the size of my head, a sleek drone with a glowing eye raced through the cold sky. It buzzed, it's wings churning with the air until it reached Wilhelm's body. A beam of light blue poured out of its lower half and entered Wilhelm's backside, charging his shield indefinitely. Looking through the scope, I squeezed my left eye shut and breathed in. My lungs ached with the chilly wind, but revived my hope. We can do this; just Maya and me.

Letting the trigger fly, I didn't waste another second to penetrate the drone's core. Sparks flew out of the dent my bullet made, and soon, the surveyor popped like a firework. I continued to do this to the rest of them, making sure Maya didn't need my help further. Wilhelm's attacks were frightening. He would stomp when Maya circled him, throwing her into the nearest object. I bit my lip, but relentlessly attacked the bots that arrived on the scene.

"A-Agh!" Maya screamed out. Her shield was depleted when Wilhelm sent a mortar into her stomach. Attempting to push on, Maya began to shoot wildly at the bots. She needed me more than ever. I could revive her if I got to her in time. Signaling my skill, I hauled ass across the icy field. I felt the bots firing at me persistently, but there was no turning back now. Sliding into her, I plucked one of Zed's health packs out of my pocket and bandaged her wounds up.

"Don't die on me yet! I need you," I told her, hoping to encourage her to live on. Maya coughed, a small amount of blood sloshing out from her tongue and onto the snow below us. I felt the burn from my skill set start to die; I've only a few moments before they would break through my shield. Yanking her up onto her feet, I slammed the rifle back into her pale hands and gave her a smile. "Let's take them down together. Double our firepower, and he'll surely fall." She looked at me, giving out a small giggle and reloaded her gun.

"You take left!" Maya demanded and raced off, sending a flurry of bullets into Wilhelm's thick armor. Switching to my shotgun, I would attempt to penetrate through the mortar and hopefully destroy it so all we had to worry about was his weird stomping attack. Blocking my path were EXP loaders and I struggled to turn around, but the slippery substance pulled me closer to them. Slamming the end of my gun into the ground, it caused a reaction where I swung back around the way I came and I hopped away from them. I could hear them chase after me; what the hell do I do? Maybe if I juke them, and wait for them to explode, and then get my ass out of there. That's my plan. Good one, huh? No? Okay.

I leaped up onto a fallen loader, waiting for the exploding bots to near me. I crouched down, thinking about if I should get onto one of the train cars to escape or—That's it! Maya was drawing Wilhelm near me, like if she was reading my mind. In a flash, the bots began to spark and sputter; sending a huge field of glowing electricity around them.

Now!

I launched myself into the air from the explosion, gripping my gun tightly in my hands so I didn't lose grip on the sleek design. Wilhelm had no idea; I landed straight on his shoulders and proceeded to fire the ever-living shit out of his head. Wilhelm stuttered a bit, the will to live leaving his body and he collided onto the ground. I took the opportunity to dismount him, placing myself directly in front of Maya. She gave me a small grin, ruffling my mane of hair.

"Never do that again. You had no planning, and you were reckless," she began to lecture me. "—And I loved it. Still scared the shit out of me, but I loved it. Good job, Juno." Laughing, I tucked my gun into its holster and gave her a bright smile.

"That's what I'm talking about!" I cheered. "Wait until Roland hears—"

"You did it! Congratulations. I knew you could," that same female voice sang out on our ECHO devices. Raising an eyebrow, I shot Maya a 'who-is-that' look. Waving her hand, she moved her device up to her mouth and began to talk into it.

"Thanks Angel," she responded. "Roland? I assume you can hear me. There wasn't a vault key, but Wilhelm dropped a power core of some sort. Want me to take it to Sanctuary?" I moved my head back against my shoulder, scanning the ground for the item Maya spoke about. Just like the ones that powered Sanctuary shields, a battery-like item laid on the ground. I waltzed over to it and picked it up in my hands. The conversation died out on my ECHO, replacing with that wonderful voice that made me want to go up to Helios and punch him directly in his face.

"Well done, kiddo! You got the damn power core, didn't ya?" Jack's voice asked in a drawl. "Maybe you aren't so useless as I thought you were. It'll be an honor shooting your brains out one day, Miss June or whatever the hell your name is."

"Juno," I corrected him while Maya snatched the core out of my palms. "Proves that you have the attention span of a spitter skag."

"Oooouch! That one left a little burn," Jack laughed into the device. "See you around, Janet." The ECHO made a slight static noise, symbolizing that he had ended the call. I gritted my teeth. I hated him so much. Taking in a deep breath, I followed Maya over to the Fast Travel station and soon, we were back home.


	8. A Flying City

p style="line-height: 1.8em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin-top: 0px; background-color: #fefefe; clear: none !important;" Maya disappeared after we arrived in Sanctuary. I figured she went to go plug in the power core and provide us with a fully charged shield. Sanctuary's shields were always faulty due to the constant moon shot attacks by Helios, so when we came across a core, Roland took advantage of it straight away. I cantered towards Roland's place, eager to check in on my friends and tell them about my adventures. I never felt this way before; I felt important and I liked it. A small smile bore itself onto my pale face until the ground began to quake violently. I was nearly knocked off of my legs as I held onto one of the light poles with all my might. The screams of fellow Sanctuary inhabitants rang throughout the tiny city as I laid my eyes on the most horrifying sight./p  
p style="line-height: 1.8em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; clear: none !important;" A moon shot made it through our defenses, and slammed onto an innocent bystander. His blood poured out of the rock, leaking into the cracks and crevices of the concrete flooring and vanished. My legs locked; my mind screamed at me to move some place safer, but I couldn't. I was immobile./p  
p style="line-height: 1.8em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; clear: none !important;" "Look out!" a voice called out behind me. I felt powerful arms push me down onto the ground, coating my arms in bruises and a small cut gashing onto my cheek bone. Gritting my teeth, I felt the earth tremble with a powerful force, and then cease. Someone saved me from being obliterated. The man pulled me back up to my feet, grabbing me by the shoulders and inspected my wounds like when Bloodwing spotted her prey. His head cocked, and tugged at his sleeve, ripping it in half and tied it around my bruises./p  
p style="line-height: 1.8em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; clear: none !important;" "Uh, thanks," I told him. He was a few heads taller than me and wore Dahl, green soldier uniform with a rifle strapped to his back; like how mine was. His hair, a dirty blonde shade and he had a small stubble on his chin, running up to his jaw. I remember seeing him—Axton was his name. He shrugged his shoulders, neither smiling or frowning at the fact that I yet proved that I couldn't protect myself./p  
p style="line-height: 1.8em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; clear: none !important;" "Stay safe," he advised me before racing off to rescue some other lady that had fallen due to the frightening amount of earth trembles Sanctuary was undergoing. I looked up at the sky, noticing that the clear covering that was once our shield disappeared. The power core! It's a trap. Clicking my tongue in frustration, I made my path towards Roland's place. However, I heard my name being called from a distance. Craning my head over, my eyes laid upon Lilith. Her arms were outstretched at the center of Sanctuary, whereas a strange pillar rose. It gleamed with the light of Lilith's powers, like a beacon in the dark./p  
p style="line-height: 1.8em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; clear: none !important;" "What is it Lilith?" I asked her when I got close enough to hear what she desired. She panted, her eyes squeezing shut with both pain and aspiration rising in her chest. Her fingers trembled at the incredible pressure moving from them, echoing into the pillar that continued to glow a blue-ish light./p  
p style="line-height: 1.8em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; clear: none !important;" "I-I need eridium," Lilith begged. "Roland went inside to find some, but he hasn't come out. G-Go check on him." Without another question, I turned on my heel and dodged another moon shot that hurdled my way. Man, Hyperion must really want me dead. Tannis wasn't at her office when I flew up the stairs and neither was Mordecai. My head darted around in all different directions, searching for Roland might have tripped or got knocked out. My eyes fell on the open door to his safe, spotting Roland pinned down by several pieces of large rubble./p  
p style="line-height: 1.8em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; clear: none !important;" "Roland!" I exclaimed and tried to push them off him, but he used his free arm to remove me from them. "Dude, you are gonna die if you just sit there! Let me help!"/p  
p style="line-height: 1.8em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; clear: none !important;" "No. You must get the eridium to Lilith. She'll save us all," Roland ordered and nodded towards the eridium that was scattered across the floor. "That's an order." Frowning deeply, I gathered the pieces in my arms and gave him one final glance over my shoulder before climbing back down the stairs./p  
p style="line-height: 1.8em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; clear: none !important;" "Here," I murmured and handed Lilith the chunks of purple substance. She let out a happy sigh and clenched them in her fists, the particles sifting into her chest like powder sugar. The aura around her glistened and grew, and it was almost blinding./p  
p style="line-height: 1.8em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; clear: none !important;" "Lilith!" Axton called out, showing up behind me out of nowhere. "I couldn't find any eridium. Where else can—" Our words were cut off by Lilith's next action. Her arms stretched out further as she screamed in frustration. I took one last look at Sanctuary before a blinding, white light encased both Axton and me. I closed my hazel eyes, cupping them for added protection with my hands as the screaming ceased to exist. Everything died down, and I could feel a cold air breathing on my back. Afraid to open my eyes, I stood there like an idiot./p  
p style="line-height: 1.8em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; clear: none !important;" "Juno? Axton? You guys okay?" Lilith's voice rang out from my ECHO device./p  
p style="line-height: 1.8em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; clear: none !important;" "Yeah! I'm fine. I think you sent me outside of Sanctuary. I'll try to find your location," Axton's voice answered in a static. Location? What happened to Sanctuary?/p  
p style="line-height: 1.8em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; clear: none !important;" "Juno, where are you?" Lilith's voice echoed once more. My chest heaved at the sound of robots chattering to themselves, and the whispers of workers. I carefully peeked through my hands, and nearly screamed out in terror./p  
p style="line-height: 1.8em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; clear: none !important;" There, standing before me, was that masked bastard—Handsome Jack./p  
p style="line-height: 1.8em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; clear: none !important;" "Juno?" she asked, her voice sounding more worried by the moment. Jack reached down and unclipped my ECHO device from my belt, pressing down on one of the buttons with a wickedly evil grin./p  
p style="line-height: 1.8em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; clear: none !important;" "Thanks for sending me a present, Lilith! I appreciate it. It's not exactly what I wanted, but she'll do. Toodles!" he answered her without a moment's rest, and before I could snatch it from his hands, he slammed it on the ground and stomped his shoe upon it. "Nice to finally meet you, Juno." My hands clenched into fists, my mind becoming numb with anger that rushed in it viciously. That was my only means of contacting Mordecai, Roland or Lilith. They'd think I'd be dead, and send someone to find me. I'm going to be used as a trap, and that pissed me off. Balling up my right fist, I sent a punch into that disgusting mask of his./p 


	9. Held Captive

Two Hyperion goons gripped my arms tightly, pushing them up against my back in attempt to detain me from harming their precious president further. While doing so, one of them reached up and undid the clasp that lead to my sniper rifle, tossing it onto the ground. Gritting my teeth so tight that I thought they would surely chip away, I struggled while another Hyperion employee swooped in and confiscated my shotgun. Fabulous; they took my only hope away from me. If only I brought my—hey, wait! My hazel eyes lit up when I realized that they hadn't checked my pants legs. From all of the running around, my pants leg hid the knife strapped to my leg. I might be able to pull this off.

"I told you to stop poking your nose in adult business," Jack lectured me, positioning his mask back onto his face. I narrowed my eyebrows, wishing I punched him harder. He took a step-in front of me, leaning down until our faces nearly touched. "See what happens? It's the same in every story; the good guy always wins! I've caught you, and now you can tell me all about Roland's little plan of action so I can crush them before they even start."

"One little problem with that," I spoke out boldly. "I won't tell you anything. Nope, nada. I'd rather die than tell you about that sort of thing." Leaning back up, Jack snorted under his mask and pressed his palms together like one of those evil guys in the movies with a fluffy, white cat perched next to them on a velvet chair.

"That can be arranged," he purred and spun on his heels. "I can't believe you'd give up your own life for a dirt hole like Sanctuary. I mean, you look like a smart girl—" He turned to look at me, acting shocked. "—Well actually, you don't. No offense, buuuuut… They hardly have an army and they can't protect you forever. If Lilith really wanted to have you safe, she wouldn't have sent you up here." My heart faltered a bit, almost believing his manipulative lie. Shaking my head, I laughed gingerly and stood up straighter. The goons followed my movements, but the one on the left was a bit slow to recognize my actions. He's always a step behind me; that's interesting.

"Psh, whaaat?" I commented sarcastically. "Yeah, Lilith totally wanted me to die. You aren't the best liar, Jack."

"So I guess you aren't as stupid as the rest of them, bandit," he said to me. Snorting, I moved my eyes towards the left side of the room. From what I could see, there were a couple of gunner bots waiting nearby a door marked 'lobby.' Perhaps if I escaped through there, I could hide out someplace until I found a way to get back onto Pandora. I shifted my eyes back to Jack; I would have to kill everyone in this room with just my knife, unless I could make it over to the guy holding my guns on the opposite side of the room. I wasn't sure if I could do that, but it's worth a shot.

"But you're still as stupid as I thought you'd be, masky!" I retorted back at him with a grin. "Why do you even wear that mask? You look retarded. Your chin is way too exaggerated and it's honestly creepy." If I kept him going, Jack would eventually put down his defenses meaning when I broke free, he'd have a harder time realizing what was happening around him. Hopefully.

"Shh, shh, shhh! That's a secret you'll never find out, pumpkin. Might as well tone it down a few notches," he said. "You could use a mask. Would look better on you. Ohohoho, burn!" Like the immature bastard he was, Jack pointed at me and laughed profusely. I chuckled a bit, turning my left leg back around the goon's own leg.

"Well this was very fun, but I think I should go now. You know, got big plans and my friends are waiting for me," I began and in the blink of an eye, I kicked the inner corner of the goon's leg. He groaned in pain and fell onto his back. Whipping out my knife, I held it up to the opposite man's head and sent it through his skill. His thick, gross smelling blood splattered all over my face and my clothes. Sighing, I murmured, "Just washed these too."

"What are you bots doing?! Get her!" Jack screeched at the top of his lungs, pointing wildly at my frame. I giggled deviously and rushed over towards the gentleman that had stolen my shotgun. His green eyes flickered with fear, holding out the gun to me without me having to harm him or anything. Smiling, I took it out of his hands and blew him a kiss.

"Thanks babes!" I praised the guy and leaped down onto the lower level. I was greeted by gunfire, which I used my skill to block their attacks and put everything into my shotgun. It was weird; I was so used to being up high and sniping from afar, but now I'm up close and personal, I loved it. The last bot fell to the ground in a groan of pain, in which I placed one shoe on the top of his head and held up my gun as if I achieved a great victory. "Damn, I'm on fire today! I freaking rock!"

"Don't steal all the attention, kiddo. I need some of it," I heard Jack shout after me. I flashed him a smile, reloading my gun and I didn't hesitate to aim at him. "Go ahead, try it. Betcha you won't do it." Narrowing my eyebrows over my dark eyes, I gripped the gun tighter. Something told me to stop, like this wasn't the time to kill him. I would have my revenge soon. Grunting, I lowered my gun and sighed.

"I don't want to be like you," I told him. "So yeah, no. You get to live another day."

"Aww, thanks cupcake!" Jack responded with a wink. "Oh yeah! You got something on your shoulder." He gestured towards my right shoulder, in which I could spot a shadow behind me. Shit. I was greeted with a heavy rain of bullets coming from a gigantic, yellow robot. It's arms were thick, and opened up to become a serious of guns. Missiles flew from them, coating my shield in smoke and fumes. Gasping, I moved back to a different location and allowed my shield to rise up to its full potential once more.

"Shit, shit, shit," I muttered under my breath. This was hopeless; the robot was extremely strong. There was no way—my skill. I felt it recharge inside of my mind. Taking in a cold breath, I shut my eyes and thought to myself,

_If I die today, I want Roland and the Crimson Raiders to know that I fought valiantly. I won't back down, and I will remain strong until my last breath._

_ I want Lilith to know that she can't steal anymore of my cookies because I won't be able to make any since I'll be dead, and I love her?_

_ I want Mordecai to know that he's been a great mentor, and that I'm really confused on what he thinks of me and what I thought of him. _

The feeling unleashed inside of me, and I launched myself in front of the bot. I shot relentlessly at the armored metal, ignoring the fact that he continued to pelt at me with dangerous missiles that could kill me in an instant. Rushing upwards, I got closer and closer to him until—

Boom!

He exploded. The smoke rose towards the ceiling, causing the emergency sprinklers to pop on and douse both Jack and I in cold water. My hair stuck to my forehead, as well as my clothes. Dragging my jacket from my arms, I cocked my gun towards Jack and shot him a grin.

"So, what else do you have to throw at me? That was pretty fun!" I said. "I'd like something a little more challenging; something that makes me want to actually try. This—right here—was child's play." Snickering, Jack leaned up against the control panel and folded his arms over his chest. He seemed to laid-back for this type of conversation; I didn't like it.

"I'm not wasting my fantastic robot army on some puny girl," Jack admitted. I lowered my gun, raising an eyebrow. "Anyway, I think it's time for you to go now. I'm getting really bored of talking to you, and well, I have a date to keep. Chao!" I blinked in confusion, and then I felt something hard hit the back of my skull. Blackness seeped into my eyes, blinding me while my body crashed onto the cold pavement.

"She's a tough rascal, ain't she?" an unfamiliar voice sounded; most likely the person that knocked me out. I groaned in pain, feeling my mind start to drift more, and more into blackness.

"Hell yeah she is. That's what I like about her," Jack's voice was the last to echo through my mind before I completely rendered myself unconscious.


	10. The Friendly Bandit

My head throbbed deep in my skull, aching all the way into my eye sockets and caused me to groan in pain, holding onto my head tighter. Ultimately, that didn't help with the pain and I removed my palms from my injured area. From where I laid, the ground was ice cold, but not damp. I shivered as the chill penetrated my warm skin, hitting my bones full force and provoked me to sit up instead of lay down. My brain whirled when I did and my hand tangled itself into a block of my hair. Damn, this hurt so bad. Desperately, I blinked my eyes from the darkness surrounding my mind and a bright light shone down onto me. I squinted and held up a hand to block the light from causing a migraine.

I was in a cell, no doubt. I could still tell I was on Helios due to the fact my ears couldn't stop popping, and there was a window built on the farther side of the cell, displaying a beautiful, midnight sky with soft, glowing balls of light that I assumed were stars. I moved myself closer, admiring how fantastic they looked so close. Even as an adult, I admired star gazing. I would make Mordecai take me out to the very top of Sanctuary and stay up there all night to watch the stars fall from the sky. Whenever one raced across the ocean of black, I immediately made a wish. I'm pretty sure that I wished for a puppy once, but when I woke up the next morning, I was sad to see that I didn't have one. I kept wishing, and wishing until finally a mini, blonde-fur dog leaped through the border of Sanctuary. I sneaked the poor guy into my room and hid him there for a good couple of weeks until he peed on Roland's bed. Unfortunately, Roland made me get rid of the animal and I was heartbroken. I wondered what happened to good ol' Charlie; probably got eaten by a skag or roasted by bandits.

I yanked my body away from the window and let out a wild yelp. There was someone in the cell with me! I hadn't noticed him since he was hiding in the very far corner of the room, huddling in the shadows. He let out a yell and backed into the bars. I had awoken him from his sleep, probably.

"Who the hell are you?" I inquired, feeling around my belt for a gun or anything. Whoever locked me in this awful place confiscated my weapons. I backed up into the wall, holding up my fists in defense. "I'll fight you! Come at me!" His laugh was raspy, like he had been sleeping for a while now. His hands rubbed his eyes as he moved into the light.

"I'm not gonna hurt you, girl," he cooed. He looked to be around the age of 27, with a mature stubble growing on the top of his square chin. His eyes were a dark brown, almost looking black like the same color of his spiky hair, and bore black rings of fatigue around his round-shaped eyes. His skin was tanned, yet bruised and there were these strange blue markings on his body - like the ones on Maya's. My eyes widened; he was a siren! How - I thought sirens were all supposed to be females?

"I'm still keeping my eye on you," I murmured and pointed my two fingers at him, squinting my hazel eyes down to the size of a pea. "But hey, are you a siren?" The guy laughed again, coughing in the middle of it and leaned back against the bars.

"Let's save that conversation for later, alright? Everyone always asks me that. So, how'd you end up here? I reckon you did something pretty bad to piss off Jackie," the guy asked me, tilting his head to the side. "Well, that's what I heard when they dropped you off in here." I pulled my knees up to my chest and shrugged my shoulders. Oh, how I wished I was back on Sanctuary. I felt too strange here.

"I got transported here by accident," I responded while the mystery guy tugged at the grey scarf around his neck, nuzzling his sharp nose into the fabric. "I'm not supposed to be here. I need to get back to Sanctuary." The guy's eyes lit up and he jolted up. He stood to about six foot, maybe even taller and leaned down in front of me. I was taken aback by this action and shot him a warning glance.

"Sorry. I've never met anyone from Sanctuary before," the man commented with a bright smile. "I've always wanted to live there and become a vault hunter. I'm so sick of the drag I get from being classified as a bandit." He took a step back and sighed. "If only Roland could see…" I blinked and tilted my head.

"You don't act or dress like a bandit," I added.

"That's because I don't want to be an insane psychopath!" he stated. "I want to be a Crimson Raider. For as I can I could remember and even before the eridium outbreak, I've wanted to help them find the vault."

"Who exactly are you?" was the only question I could muster.

"My name is Almon. Yeah, I know; weird name. Mom loved almonds and decided to take out the 'D' and make her own name," the man began. "I lived out in the Dust with a small bandit tribe. We tried to stay out of the way of the Hodunks and the Zadfords, since they were going through a horrible clan war. Anyway, I was out with my mom when we were attacked by Hyperion. They kept talking about the marks on my body. They've always been there; ever since I can remember." He shuddered and rubbed his bare arms, looking down upon the ground. Blinking, I attempted to stand up and walk over to his location. I patted his arm softly and smiled.

"We'll get out of here. I promise you; we will and I'll take you to see Roland! I'm sure we could use someone like you on our team," I told him. Almon's crooked smile spread upon his face, clapping his hands together excitedly.

"Thank you so much—Ah, I don't know your name," he pried.

"Juno. My name is Juno," I answered him.

"I've never had a friend before, Juno. This is awesome!" Almon cheered. Aw, he was adorable. Laughing, I reached up and patted his spiky hair, in which Almon frowned and began to mess with it once again.

"Have you been here long, Almon?" I asked him and sat back down on the cold ground. He followed my movements, collapsing onto the ground and laid his head down on a piece of fallen rubble. He breathed in a sigh and looked up at me.

"Too long," he answered. "I need to get out of here. Every day, that same Hyperion bastard comes down and jingles the keys to my release in my face, chanting and jeering at me. He knows how bad I want out of here."

"Maybe we can grab the keys from him when he taunts you?" I suggested.

"Nah. Guy's got a taser thing. He'll burn our asses in seconds," Almon added. "I'm not sure what else we can do—Oh! Shit I just remembered. When the bastard came down and dumped you in the cell, I'm sure he was talking about some sort of meeting. Jack is gonna question us. Perhaps, if things go right, we find a way to escape?" He rolled over and looked at me once again, his brown eyes full of hope. I bit my lip; he had no idea what Helios could throw at us.

"It depends," I told him, hoping not to dampen his spirits. "Let's just see how the meeting goes and go from there. We might learn something important about Jack, and when we see Roland, you can look like a hero by telling him!" Almon flashed a sweet smile and laid his head down upon his hands.

"Would you do that?" he asked.

"Yep!" I chirped. Almon chuckled softly and closed his eyes, nuzzling deeper into his hands.

"Thanks Juno," he yawned out, pulling his legs up so that he curled up into a ball. I laughed softly and leaned against the bars, waiting to hear the doors open. It took several hours, but finally the door slammed shut and I heard footsteps approach us. A burly man with a curly mustache, strong arms with defined muscles and a baton stepped in front of the cage. He sneered down at me, in which I gave him an innocent smile.

"Jack is requesting to see you," he said, and then kicked the bars, awaking Almon from his sleep. He groaned irritably and glared up at the guard. "—You too, you freak." Handcuffs were slapped onto our arms as we were led up the metallic stairs, and out into Helios's core.


	11. Questions Without Answers

All eyes were on Almon and me when the guard led us through the center of Helios. The girls with their long hair tied up in ribbons, wearing pencil skirts and thick-framed glasses murmured to one another, pointing towards Almon and his muscles. Taking notice of them, he tastefully flexed his beefy arms and made the girls swoon even further. I nudged him with my elbow, giving him a look of disapproval.

"Now's not the time to show off," I murmured in his direction and trudged along with the walkway, passing through a doorway that led down an even longer corridor. I could still hear the Hyperion's murmuring and gasping about us. Hadn't they ever seen a Pandorian before? I guess not. Almon clicked his heels together, whistling a random tune that popped into his head and hopped to the sound. "Are you okay, Almon?"

"They are taking us to be executed. Might as well act like an idiot one last time without any regrets," Almon answered bravely and continued to whistle the high-pitched song. Rolling my eyes, I looked away from him and eyed the hanging posters on the walls. They were bounties on the heads of Zero, Salvador, Axton and Maya. Their pictures looked horrible; all scratched up and worn to the part that their faces began to fade into the parchment.

"They aren't going to kill us," I told him after a moment's rest. "If they do, remember the plan." Basically, there was no plan. We were completely winging it and hoping for the best. The handcuffs seemed to get tighter around my thin wrists, and I made a face as I felt my skin start to separate. Blood mixed in with the metal against my skin didn't help at all; it soon began to burn.

"Mhm," Almon commented. "I'll try to." By this time, we arrived at a set of black, double doors with a security lock on the left side. The guard moved over to it, slamming his hand onto the screen as it scanned his fat palm. It beeped happily and opened. We scurried inside due to the guard jabbing our sides with his batons and arrived in front of a rectangle desk with a classy design. Papers were scattered neatly on the top, and a small computer sat on the right side. There was a chair facing away from us, and I immediately began to chuckle.

"And what's behind door number two?" I asked out loudly. The chair spun around viciously, exposing Jack with his arms wide open and grinning widely. His legs were crossed over the other, with a notepad sitting in the middle. Almon flinched backwards, grunting softly.

"My two favorite kiddos!" Jack greeted us. "Almond the nutcase, and Juliet!" I narrowed my eyes, about to correct him but he kept going, "I've missed you so, so, so very much that I had to call you in for a little reunion. How's the fam, Almon? Still dead as a door nail?" Almon looked down at his boots, heaving a sad sigh. "Thought so."

"They didn't deserve to die," Almon murmured and narrowed his dark eyebrows. "They might have been bandits, but they were half the hero you'd ever be!" His fists clenched tightly under his handcuffs, and I could almost hear the metal cracking from his intense strength.

"That's cute," Jack answered. "Oooh, I can't wait to start the reunion! We can talk about booooys, do each other's hair and makeuuuup, talk about Sanctuary.. Hey! Sanctuary! Let's talk about that and Roland while we are at it." He leaned forward in his chair, smirking. "I don't expect nuts over here to know anything, so Jillian—"

"I don't know anything either," I began, not even letting him finish. Jack paused in his prime and let out a sigh, sitting up from his throne. He took large strides to get over the desk and leaned his back against it, staring at me intensely.

"C'mon. You can tell me. We are all friends here," Jack said calmly. Shaking my head, I straightened my back and turned my nose up, looking down at Jack with pristine elegance—or retardation, more like that.

"Roland never told me what he was planning on doing next. I don't know," I answered. In a flash, the guard pressed a cold pistol against my head and tightened his grip on the trigger. I remained quiet, squeezing my eyes shut in fear that he would do it.

"Tell him now, bitch!" the guard hissed into my ear, sending chills down my spine and making my ear throb with pain. I shook my head, feeling the gun move with my head. Almon only watched us, biting his lip tightly. He was worried; I could tell.

"Hey, knock it off!" Jack ordered and smacked the gun out of the guard's hand in a flurry. It hit the ground with a clank, resting with the trigger fully back in its place. The guard fumbled in confusion, picking it up and holstering it into his belt. "Uh—I-I want the satisfaction of killing her myself." Jack spun on his heels, facing away from us now. Almon nudged me and gave me a questioning look. I mouthed, 'I have no fucking clue.'

"What was that all about?" I questioned Jack further, leaning forward slightly. I was genuinely curious to why he called off the attacker. The room went dead silent for a moment, until Jack exhaled and rotated back around. The worry that flashed through his eyes moments ago disappeared, and replacing it was his cruel smirk.

"Almon," Jack started and completely ignored my question. "I'd like to speak with Julian here alone. I hope you don't mind if I send you back to your best friend, Professor Hyzack! He's missed you, and would love to play around with your head." Gasping and tears beginning to pool in his eyes, Almon struggled against the guard's thick arms and begged for salvation. He dug his heels into the flooring, attempting to escape, but they were too tough for him.

"N-No! Anything but him!" Almon cried out as he was dragged out of the room. I watched him go, taking in a shaking breath. Poor Almon. On our way to this meeting, we passed a section of cubicles with the name 'Professor Hyzack' written on one of them. Almon froze up, exploding into tears and almost darted out of the series of rooms. He tried to explain it the best he could, but when he got here, Hyzack tried to dissect the power Almon got from eridium. The assistants would pin him down on a cold cot, strapping him with buckles and putting him under anesthetics. He didn't know what happens during the surgery, but he left feeling awful and not the same.

"Ugh, he's sooo annoying! Such a pussy," whined Jack and folded his arms over his chest. "I sometimes can't believe he's a blood thirsty bandit." I looked at him with a wild look glinting in my eyes.

"He's not blood thirsty. He's nice!" I shot back at him. "Almon is the nicest bandit I've ever met." Chuckling, Jack sat up on his desk and crossed his legs once again.

"Tell me about yourself, Juno. Tell me why you have been able to escape my radar since the day you got into Sanctuary?" he questioned, propping his head up using his strong arms. Moving my wrist around clockwise, I felt the metal dig deeper into my skin. I hissed in pain, but shook my head once again. My blonde bangs moved in front of my face, making it almost impossible to peer out of them.

"I'll never tell you anything. Just give up," I half-growled at him. "You don't need to hear about my life; not even like you care. This is some trick that you use on every single one of your prisoners and pry the information out of them without them least expecting you." The room fell silent once again. Jack blinked, his different colored eyes flashing in my direction. I didn't dare speak; he could easily kill me at any given moment. In fact, this breath that I'm taking now could be my last.

"I don't normally do this to any of my captives," was his only response. A weird feeling surged in my stomach and I stared at him in utter disbelief.

"Excuse me?" I asked. Jack shifted legs, and gave me a weird smile. It wasn't one that he normally showed; it displayed a different emotion. I didn't like it. I stuttered in my spot, averting his gaze.

"You heard me, Juno," he laughed tenderly. "I wouldn't do that to you."

"Why?"

Another awkward pause, causing Jack to shrug his shoulders and try his hardest to find an answer to my endless questions. I watched him shift awkwardly in his seat until he let out a loud groan and hopped down from his seat.

"Never mind! God, you never stop asking questions do you, cupcake?" he uttered, irritably.

"I'm just wondering why you are being nice to me all of a sudden. Pretty suspicious if you ask me," I squinted at him through his mask. "What are you hiding, masky?" Jack let out a chuckle and beckoned me closer to him. I didn't move, frozen in time. I was playing a dangerous game, and I didn't want to blow my chances with him. Still, that weird feeling played tennis in my stomach and made my heart beat faster and faster. While I was deep in my thoughts, I didn't realize that Jack was reaching for my hands. I gasped, but he was faster than me. He hooked a key into the left cuff and they fell to the ground with a satisfying clunk. I rubbed my wrists, moving the dried blood off my pale wrists and let out a whimper of pain.

"Come on, it's not that bad," Jack commented. I glared at him darkly.

"Why did you do that?" I asked him. "No avoiding the question. I want to know, Jack." He stopped in his tracks, tapping his cheek thoughtfully until he pointed towards the door.

"I want you to take a walk with me," Jack answered. "Walking sucks, but I want to make you understand somethings about Hyperion. I don't want to be the enemy to you. I want to be the hero." Solemnly, I nodded my head. I had no choice, but looking back onto this situation, I should have ran. This next situation ruined my life, probably. I just wish I wasn't that stupid.


	12. Shooting Stars

"So what kinda tragic thing happened to make you stay in Sanctuary for all your life?"

The questioned repeated itself over, and over in my skull and rattled the stems of my brain. I paused at the end of the staircase, laying a shaking hand on the railing next to me and used it to pull my frame towards it. Removing my slouchy, dark emerald hat from my hair and pulled the black pair of goggles with a crack in the right eyepiece down. Strands stuck in the plastic and tugged deep into my roots, causing me to shift in pain. Tucking them into my palms, I leaned over the railing and breathed in slowly. Did I really want to tell my worst enemy, Jack, about my previous life? I hardly remembered it; only the section where Mordecai rescued me.

His goggles fit tightly around his slim face, looking quite serious with the all the expression shining through his seated eyebrows and lips in a faint frown. I remember the fire, blowing deathly fumes in my round face and induced my lungs to cough profusely. I remember the screams of my neighbors, my friends, my family—And that's when it gets fuzzy. Mordecai claims that bandits attacked us for money, and for the women perhaps. I tried not to get emotional in front of Jack and cleared my throat, swallowing sadness with it.

"I lived close to Fyrestone, if I remember correctly. We were a small colony living independently; only worrying about the skags that occasionally wandered into our turf. Little over forty-five people lived there, including my parents and I," I spun my tale. "My father sold weapons he found on his travels to our people, and the profits were decent. His name was Earle, with a stringy, blonde beard and the softest blue eyes you'd ever see. He met my mother when she was held captive by a couple of bandits; rescued her in the blink of an eye. Her name was Destiny, and longed to be a vault hunter, but she acted reckless—Like me." A smile sprouted onto my face.

"They fell in love, and had me after two years of being married. Before they named me, my dad admired the name 'June', but my mother despised it. When the doctor of our town asked what my name was going to be, my dad replied 'Ju-' and my mom screeched '-no!'. That's how I got my name; Juno. We were so happy, and then they attacked. I was only five at the time, cowering in my room and crying for my mother. She never came. I left my room and ran out into the burning streets—" My fists clenched, gulping back more tears. "—I found my mom. Her brown hair was in a frizz, her hazel eyes wide open with fear and a huge gaping hole in her stomach. I never found my father, but I assumed he's dead. He would have found me by now."

"That's awful," Jack commented. "Sounds kinda gnarly and awesome, but awful." I shot him a glare, folding my arms over my slim chest and glanced down at my shoes. They tapped the end of the railing, creating a metal echo through the hollow room. Luckily, it's around nine at night, so partial of the Helios population were asleep. "That's why I hate you—er, those bandits. They're relentless and just plain stupid! I don't understand why you aren't on my side. Don't you want to get revenge on them? They killed your family!"

"Killing doesn't make me any better than a bandit," I answered. "I'm not like that. I don't like hurting people because I could be tearing apart of family and not even know." My slim fingers wrapped around the railing and I breathed out the warm air from my lungs. "It's not worth it, seeking revenge I mean. They'll find their fate at the end of this story."

"Let me ask you this question Juno," Jack started, taking a step towards me. "Who is the devilishly, handsome good guy in this story? Who is the bad guy?" Rolling my hazel eyes, I moved them towards the monstrous glass opening in front of us. Stars dotted the midnight sky, like how they did in my cell. I could even see Pandora rotating slowly with grace. His question made me think hard—harder than I've ever done. I knew Hyperion would never be the hero, but what about Sanctuary? Were we the good guys?

"Neither you, or Roland, or Lilith, or Mordecai, or me," I finally came up, hoping Jack would understand. "None of us are the hero. Our morals are tainted to the breaking point, and we are clouded with anger or fear. Roland wants to destroy you, and you want to destroy us. That's not how a hero thinks. I'm… I'm not the hero either. I'm extremely selfish, wanting to be a vault hunter and all and I don't consider anyone else's safety. I rush into battles without thinking, I don't plan out my attacks and one day, I'll end up dead." The words threw themselves from my lips; I could barely contain my feelings. I've been wanting to admit this to someone, and finally it exploded like a pipe bomb inside of me. I wasn't mad or sad; I was glad. I was telling the truth. An awkward silence befell us, and I actually wondered if Jack turned away and walked away from me. Suddenly, he appeared beside me and placed his hands on the railing, glancing up at the sky with me.

"I want to be the hero to protect my daughter," Jack confessed. "I don't want her to live in a world that's full of killers and dangerous psychopath. I want her to live a normal life with a normal family." He took in a breath and looked down at me. "There. You know my secret. Whoop-dee-doo. Go tell Roland now, like the little bitch you are." I raised an eyebrow at his sudden hostile attitude.

"I won't tell him," I said and moved my body towards him, fully facing him. "You have my word, Jack." He looked a bit shocked, but replaced it with a serious look

"Pinkie promise then," Jack voiced and held up his pinkie finger. I blinked, glancing at his finger and then back up at him. Giggling, I lifted mine and crossed it over his. He released it, his feel lingering on my finger for a few moments.

"You're weird," I told him and turned back away from him. "So, what do you do for fun around here?" Jack blinked his different colored eyes, shrugging his shoulders without having another thought to voice. "What? You don't know? No wonder why you are such a stuck up bastard!"

"Hey! Listen here, you-" growled Jack, but before he could finish, I gripped his forearm and tugged him down the next set of stairs. Jerking him, he nearly tripped over his feet and fell flat on his face.

"We'll have to find something awesome to do—Something dastardly," I murmured and tapped my chin thoughtfully, glancing around the area. Aha! A prank! The inner child in me squealed with delight as I laid my eyes on my target; a small woman with a cup of coffee held between her hands. She walked through the lighted area of the inner core of Helios, heading towards the residential area.

"Um—so—What are you doing?" Jack questioned and leaned over my shoulder. I held up my hand, silencing him.

"Pranking that girl down there. We gotta think of an epic prank to pull, nothing too boring," I murmured to answer his question.

"Punch her in the face? Lift up her skirt? Put a positive pregnancy check in her room? Hit her with a car?" Jack began to spew out. I laughed at his last recommendation and shook my head.

"Nothing too harsh," I whispered. "I was thinking we slip something into her coffee." I turned back to him, holding out my hand. "Got any salt?" Raising his eyebrow, Jack slowly shook his head and I grunted in frustration. "M'kay Jacko, you'll be the distraction while I'll swoop in, take the coffee and put salt in it. There should be some on the tables."

"Jacko?" questioned Jack.

"Shut up Jacko. Get out there and flirt with her," I ordered. Moving around him, I pushed into his back and practically dragged him over to the lady. She looked so innocent; perfect! I grinned and ducked behind a pair of bushes while Jack began to talk with her. He beckoned her over to one of the tables across from the plant life I hid behind, and without a moment's rest, I moved towards an adjacent table. I swooped the small, white container from the yellow table and rolled like a ninja back towards them. It got to the point where the girl was extremely interested in Jack and her face turned bright red, crossing her legs uncomfortably. Moving my hand up slowly, I retrieved the coffee cup and proceeded to dump the salt into the thick liquid. It bubbled when the salt began to mix with the hot water, and I practically screwed the cup on as tight as I could. When she didn't look, I placed the cup back up on the table next to her.

"Well, lovely to talk to you, but I've gotta go. You know—Hyperion business and all. See you, pumpkin!" Jack said towards the woman in the middle of her talking to him about the cat she adopted last week. She blinked, confused and turned back towards her coffee. Secretively, I raced after Jack and we parked ourselves behind one of the large pillars, peeking out at the woman. Once she took a sip, she gagged and immediately spit it out everywhere. We roared with laughter, slapping our knees and tears racing down our cheeks—well at least mine were. I couldn't tell about Jack's because of his mask.

"That was freakin' hilarious!" I giggled as we began to walk away from the location. Jack chuckled, moving his hand to encase around my tiny one. Sparks lit up in my heart, causing my stomach to whirl like a hurricane.

"You're right! God, I've never felt so alive! Let's do it again!" Jack suggested and without further ado, darted off to find another target. A nervous smile plastered on my face and I rubbed my blush away from my cheeks. I swear to God, I better not be falling for the man I hated most. Several pranks later, Jack and I dulled it down. I practically threw myself onto one of the benches on the east balcony, crossing my legs over one another and drew my attention to the sky above. The stars sparkled like a precious gem and occasionally, one flew by with a bright light. I smiled; shooting stars were my favorite.

"Um," I heard Jack begin as he took a seat next to me. "Hope you don't mind, but you are still my prisoner. I gotta take you back to your cell." I frowned softly. After all the fun we had, he was going to treat me like an animal? I crossed my arms over my chest and looked over at him.

"I want to watch the stars," I blankly told him.

"And I want a million dollars- Oh wait, I do!" Jack sneered with a grin. "Still got to go back to your new home." Slowly, I stood up and kept my arms tightly crossed over my body. "Aww, why the long face pumpkin?"

"Nothing," I hissed in response. I didn't want him to know how badly I hurt. I felt something mixed in with my anger; I didn't know what it was, but I certainly have never felt this way before about someone. I hated it. Jack moved closer to me, poking my shoulder softly.

"Juuuuunooooooo," he sang out quietly. "You can tell me anything as long as I care." I rolled my eyes away from him, but my breath caught as I saw a gigantic star move into view. It was glorious. It's white-gold aura poured onto my face, lighting it up and making me feel alive. A giggle erupted into my chest as I rushed forward, climbing on top of the balcony railing and held myself steady.

"After this one I'll go back," I informed him and tightly gripped the bars, a small smile appearing on my face. "I've never seen a star so close." Footsteps approached me and ended directly next to me. I began to feel uncomfortable, my grip loosening and I began to wobble. "Crap!" I exclaimed as my hands flailed, but one caught mine and held me back. That feeling encased my heart again, causing it to pump wildly. What the fuck? I craned my head to notice Jack, holding my hand tightly and staring down at me with that same weird look he gave me before. I didn't fight back as the feeling grew bigger and bigger until my actions weren't even my own.

"You're too clumsy. You need someone to watch after you so you don't get hurt," Jack told me, his voice dropping softly. My face rushed with pink as I felt his arms drop, cradling my waist against his strong frame. My arms found themselves around his neck while my mind screamed at me to stop and run. This couldn't be happening; it couldn't! I had one job, and I failed it.


	13. Going Home

The guard shoved me in the room, my body thrown against the hard, concrete wall and pressed deeply into my chest. My bones burned with the pain from the impact the bumpy wall had on my pale skin. Pushing myself back, I stared down the guard with the hate of a child receiving a haircut they didn't desire, but the guard gingerly chuckled and hobbled off to take the main watch for the night. My hands reached for my buckle, letting out a sigh of relief and felt a cold, metal substance hooked onto the leather. Good, I still had them.

"Watcha got there?" Almon asked, perking up when he heard the jingle of keys. Turning my back to the hidden cameras in the navy-blue ceiling, I moved one side of my jacket and exposed a pair of keys dangling at my side. He let out a gasp, practically leaping up and bore a smile ten thousand times wide as mine. "How the hell did you get them?" Almon made sure he kept his voice at a low whisper, just in case anyone listened in on our conversation.

"Eh, I have my ways," I responded with the tiniest, devious smirk I could muster. "I went around Helios with Jacko. He let his guard down faster than I expected, and when the moment was right, I swooped them from him." I would never bring myself to tell Almon how I truly felt about Jack. I should be happy about escaping Helios, but I didn't want to leave at the same time. Something changed inside of me an hour ago, and brought me to think highly of that bastard. My fingers pulled back a strand of my blonde hair, tucking my hat into the back of my head and strapped on my goggles. "We are getting out of here today, and that's final."

"Thank God—if there even is one," Almon chuckled and leaned in closer. "What about weapons? We just gonna use our fists?" I shook my head. What would that feel like—punching a robot, I mean. I imagine it would hurt like a bitch. Rubbing my knuckles, I allowed my back to rest against the door and tilted my head back, pointing towards a barred door.

"They are in there," I whispered in response. "All we have to do is find a way to get into that room and we are golden. Also, I found out a way we can escape—escape pods. The whole east wing is filled with them. I'm sure one of these keys can open a pod. We'll have to go separately though. Not enough room for both of us." I turned my body back away from the door and shoved my hands into my pockets. We could actually pull this off; I had a great feeling deep in my heart. It's exciting and thrilling—thinking about fighting dangerous enemies and falling in love with the villain—

Ugh. Shut up brain.

"Oh yeah," Almon laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck with his huge palms. "Should have known that. M'kay, so you find the correct key and I'll take care of any guards that come down." He pressed his knuckles together, wrapping his fingers around the bumps and cracking them with a sickening movement. I winced at the sound.

"Doesn't that hurt?" I questioned.

"Nah," Almon answered with a toothy grin and propped himself at the exit, his eyes darting in and out of the bars. "What are we gonna do about the camera, eh?" His eyes slowly lifted up, and his eyes lit up with a brilliant light; a revelation.

"What are you thinking?" I whispered to him. Almon raised his left hand up and aimed it towards the camera, his veins showing in his arms as his muscles clenched. I could imagine he was using his siren abilities to break the camera, which was hella badass.

"I'm sick of being treated like an animal," Almon muttered. The camera began to jolt. Instead of moving left to right in a precise movement, it stopped for a moment, and then continued moving, and then paused once again. "I'm sick of being his experiment." The glass began to crack, creating a snap that quietly echoed throughout our cell. The shards collapsed onto the ground, shattering the moment they hit. "I'm sick of being called a bandit." His eyebrows narrowed tighter against his eyes when a vortex in the shape of a triangle appeared behind the camera. It swallowed it whole, and then disappeared shortly after. I stood still, my eyes wide with fear and utmost confusion.

"Bro," I muttered and turned back to him, my eyes still wide.

"Bro," Almon replied with a grin. "That's the ability I've gotten from the Eridium explosion." His eyes looked down at his hand, examining the pointy shard. "I can summon a vault-like vortex to protect myself. I discovered it the day I got captured. It swallowed up so many Hyperions; I was so proud of myself." He let out a quick laugh, and then nudged me, motioning to the keys. "I'll explain later. Let's get out of here."

"I couldn't agree more," I stated with a wide grin and commenced unlocking the creaky, barred door. The area was crawling with bots. There was a group of flame thrower ones that marched through the lower level, a couple of EXP loaders up on the top rafters, and an ass load of war loaders. I grunted, holding my rifle tightly in my hands and looked back at Almon. I could spot fear echoing through his eyes, but Almon attempted to remain strong. He patted my shoulder, giving me a wide smile.

"Just think; once we are done here, we can go home," Almon reminded me. "Well, at least you can. My home is nothing but rubble now." Giving him a wry smile, I lifted my arm up and wrapped it around his shoulders, pulling him into a hug.

"Roland would be happy to have you! I'll make sure you live in Sanctuary for the rest of your life," I giggled softly. "And if you don't, there will be hell to pay." Laughing with me, Almon pulled away and removed his rocket launcher from his back, checking his ammo amounts before we rushed into battle.

"This is so exciting," he whispered. "My heart is beating so fast."

"I know right?" I whispered back with a grin. "Okay, so you see that path where the loader is at?" I pointed my fingernail towards an opening down two offices, looking like they led down towards a stairwell. "That's where the launch pods are. We make it over there and we are golden."

"Okay," Almon agreed and shifted his launcher into his left arm. He moved his grey scarf up around his face, covering his nose and chin. While he did so, I pushed my goggles down onto my eyes. They were a bit blurry from being on my head, but I could see through them just fine. "What's the plan?"

"Plan? I don't know—I'm making this up as I go along!" I told him with a wicked grin. And with that, I raced off down the staircase and onto the second floor. The bots marched in front of me, unaware of my presence. Almon followed closely behind me, staying as low to the ground as possible. For a moment, I thought we were in the clear until I heard a whirring noise next to me. In the flooring, a long piece of metal began to prod upwards. It was a red eye, much like the ones on the loaders. In a deep, robotic voice, it asked,

"Intruder! Identify yourself."

I laughed in its face, removing my pistol and shot it without a second thought. The bots whirled around, instantly sending firepower our way. Stepping to the side, I returned to my rifle and began to snipe out their eyes. I managed to take down two, while Almon used his rocket launcher to completely obliterate the rest.

"That's some launcher you got there!" I admired and aimed at the war loaders, which had taken notice of us.

"I got it myself," Almon answered, looking through the screen attached to the launcher. "Got corrosive damage which makes it even better." He shot another rocket towards the loaders, damaging them quite extensively. Still, they marched forward and began to beep. I flashed back to when Zero and I fought at the Friendship Gulag; they were about to attack.

"Get behind me," I ordered him. No matter, I pushed myself in front of him and unleashed my skill. Their firepower was no match for me. I stood strong, laughing in their robotic faces as I continued to shoot them down.

"Invincibility?" questioned Almon. "Wicked."

"Right?" I said happily. We swooped down the lower level, not even wasting our time on the robots that sprouted flames from their hands. Ducking down the stairwell, Almon and I hobbled down the metallic walkway and in a matter of moments, arrived at the launch pads. The pods were tiny, and had all sorts of controls laid out in front of the pilot. Peering around the corner, Almon immediately pushed me back; his eyes wide with fear.

"W-We need to run," Almon whispered harshly. "It's one of those badass loaders. We'll never make it." I peeked around the corner, giggling softly at the robot that surveyed these hallways.

"I took care of that guy back in Jack's office," I answered him. "Think you can use your skill while I get behind him?" Nervously, Almon nodded his head as we stood in the middle of the hallway.

"If we die," Almon began. "You owe me. Big time. You're giving me all of your money, and you have to tend to my every need." Snickering, I nudged his shoulder playfully and before a second breathe, I approached the robot. When I got closer, Almon commenced his skill. Just like before, a vortex appeared in front of the robot and began to drag the body into the field. It roared with pain, all the while I circled it, shooting with all the power I had in me.

The vortex only lasted for ten seconds, sucking half of the life from the robot. It whirled back around, growling intensely as it eyed me. It's arms opened up, a huge amount of guns appearing on the edges of them. I gulped nervously, but felt that fire rise in my heart again. It's time. I used my skill one last time, ignoring the shots from the loader and opened all my fire on the enemy. Almon assisted as well, shooting it down with his launcher. Finally, it fell dead on the ground. I dusted my hands off on my pants, giving Almon a bright grin and waltzed over to him.

"Sooo… We didn't die!" I said and poked his shoulder. "You have to give me your money now." He backed up, shaking his head wildly with a smile.

"Nah man! I never agreed to that," Almon chuckled. We both shared a laugh, and then remembered why we came here in the first place. Walking towards the pods, Almon hopped into one rather quickly and buckled up. Remembering the coordinates, I entered them into the computer and shut the glass cover.

"Don't go into Sanctuary until I get there. I don't want you to get shot at!" I ordered him.

"Maybe," Almon sarcastically responded with a wink. "See you soon." His thumb smashed a blinking green button on the panel, and in a split second, he was launched into space. I watched the pod hurdle towards Pandora, laughing when he lifted his arms and began to pump them wildly into the air.

"So that's it, huh? You are running home to those murdering psychopaths?" a voice resonated behind me. Shit. I knew that voice. I turned my head past my shoulder, coming face-to-face with Jack. Even with his mask, I could tell he was extremely pissed off. His hands were plastered on his chest tightly, and his eyebrows narrowed against the plastic of the mask. I laughed nervously, twirling my hair innocently.

"Pssh, what? Nahhh!" I answered and took a step back, nearly falling back into the open pod. "They aren't psychopaths. The only one I see is you, so I mean—" I was interrupted by Jack removing one of his arms, gripping onto my white shirt and pulling me closer. I gasped, feeling my airways begin to whine in defeat.

"I thought you were different than that, Juno," he growled in my face. I narrowed my eyes, balling up my fist and in my defensive, hit him square in the jaw. With the impact, his mask unclipped on the right side and dangled off his face, ultimately collapsing onto the ground. Letting out a yelp of pain, Jack covered his face with both of his hands. "F-Fuck, don't look at me! Don't fucking look at me!" He turned his body away from me, leaving his mask laying on the ground next to me.

"You dropped your face," I told him blankly and knelt, holding the mask with my index finger and thumb. He lurched backwards, attempting to grab it from me, but I yanked it back. "Wait a minute—What's wrong with your face?" Jack paused, shaking his head in defeat.

"I'm—" he attempted to speak. "I'm a monster under the mask, alright? I look like I freaking headbutted a belt sander." I snorted, holding my free hand up to my mouth.

"I'm sure it's not that bad," I assured him. Without a moments of hesitation, Jack spun around on his heels and revealed his true face. It looked almost the same as the mask, yet a painful-looking scar was encased around his eyes in the shape of the vault. He heaved, obviously angry.

"There, see? I'm a fucking monster! Take a picture, because it'll last longer!" Jack half-shouted. "This—This thing is what I really am. Without that mask, I'm disgusting. I'm ugly; I get no praise or attention. They'll laugh at me and call me, 'Jack with the Crack!' I-"

"Calm down for one," I said, with my eyebrows raised. "I'm not laughing, am I?" Jack paused, staring at me with a blank expression. He blinked, and allowed his shoulders to relax. "Second, it's not bad. I actually like the Jack behind the mask." My eyes widened, biting my lip. Did I really just say that? Oh my God, why?

"You do?" Jack asked, his eyes wide. "No one has ever told me that. Why?"

"It's the real you. It's not some fake mask," I responded with a tiny smile, my face heated up. "It's… It's nice?" Rubbing my cheeks, I took another step back into the pod and felt the seat hit the back of my knees. This silence was too hard on me, so I decided to leave. I couldn't handle it anymore.

"Wait, Juno." I heard Jack. I lifted my head up and he pressed his lips into mine. My heart leaped—like, seriously, it full on leaped over a fence and dove down a cliff and into the ocean below. My hands gripped the controls, desperately searching for the button to close the glass doors. When I found it, I pressed it quickly and Jack separated from me. He looked at me through the pod, neither sadness or anger displayed on his face. He just looked... normal for once.

"Sorry, I'm awkward!" I explained to him and continued to start up the pod. "Um, in terms of the circumstance, I'd say that I like you too—Like, really, really, really like you too and I know Roland is gonna beat my ass the second he finds out but, oh well!" I switched on the engine and reached up to the blinking green button, but my eyes fell back on him.

"Will I see you again?" he asked.

"Maybe. Who knows," I said with a smirk. "I kinda come and go as I please." And with that, I pulled the switch. The pod flew backwards, heading as fast as it's little circuits could take. Rubbing my cheeks, I groaned and leaned my head back.

"Mordecai is gonna kill me," I muttered.


	14. A Sorrowful Reunion

It was weird. Everything that just happened was super weird, and I couldn't wrap my head around it, even though I should've really be paying attention to my pod as it hurled closer and closer to the crusty surface that is Pandora. The impact caused me to yelp and hold on for dear life until the dust settled around the object. I unlatched the lock and pushed myself out into the freezing cold air, glancing around with my hazel eyes. Oh, the gates to Sanctuary were just a bit away; perfect! I let out a sigh and placed my hands on my hips, before glancing around to see if I could spot Almon. Sure enough, I caught sight of his tall frame and waving arms, trying to get my attention.

"I see you!" I giggled and waved back. "Don't know how I couldn't. You're massive!"

"And you're tiny!" Almon shot back as we walked closer to greet each other. "Well, this is it. Uh, are you sure about this? I don't want to impose."

"Pssh, I'm as sure as I'm straight!" I chirped, before tapping my cheek. "Erm, actually that's incorrect but I'm sure you'll be just fine, Almon. Once I explain what happened, Roland will definitely want you on our side."

"I hear you," Almon muttered, suddenly leaving his excited behavior behind and his shoulders slumped, looking quite nervous. "I guess I just... I don't know. I really want this; bad. I don't want to fuck up my only chances of being in Sanctuary." I smiled up at him and rubbed his shoulder, giving him a proud nod.

"Almon, I've never met a bandit as kind as you," I told him. "I'm damn sure Roland will let you into our home and if he doesn't? I'll kick his ass."

"If you say so," Almon responded with a smile. As we continued to walk over towards the gates, I began to realize - the city wasn't there. Wait, that's right! Lilith was trying to move Sanctuary elsewhere during our fight, but where? I moved over to the Fast Travel Terminal and began to search for the coordinates. Once I located them, I took a hold of Almon's hand and pulled him into the beam with a grin.

"Smile. Don't look so tense. We got this!" I told him, and in a few seconds, we found ourselves in the middle of good ol' Sanctuary, which was... up in the sky! Well, I mean, whatever worked for them. I released a hold of Almon and stepped aside, looking towards the city for anyone I recognized. So far, I couldn't see anyone. Maybe they were over at Roland's place?

"Alright, we're gonna go over here and say hi," I explained as we walked across the streets. I could tell many of the people were giving Almon weird looks, especially since he had those siren markings. He looked a bit uncomfortable, but I was proud of him for continuing to move forward.

"I can do that. I can say hi," Almon said and smiled as we opened the door, and waltzed up to the control room. Almost instantly, Roland and Lilith turned around to face us, but when I thought they'd look happy to see us, they looked... sad. I gave them a confused look and let my shoulders slump; Oh God, did they know about Jack and me already?

"Uhhh... Hey guys! I'm alive!" I greeted them. Lilith just slowly approached me, before wrapping her arms around me and pulled me into a tight hug.

"Oh thank God, Juno. I thought you were dead. We heard Jack and... How did you escape?" she asked, almost in a panic. I looked taken aback, but sighed and hugged her back firmly. I'm not going to lie; I missed her.

"I have my ways," I giggled and once we finished our embrace, I stepped aside and pointed at Almon. "This, however, is Almon! He's my new friend that I met on Helios. He's like you, Lilith. He has siren markings." Almon slowly lifted up his jacket sleeve and exposed the bright blue siren markings, which made Lilith's jaw drop.

"No way!" Lilith gasped and immediately raced over to Almon, practically talking his ear off about being a siren. I just stood there and giggled before turning to Roland.

"I'm glad you made it out of there," Roland told me and ruffled up my hair. "We were worried about you, especially Mordecai. Erm, speaking of Mordecai, I think you need to go see him before we bring you up to speed. We lost someone."

I didn't even respond. I moved towards the balcony and began to climb up onto the roof, which was where Mordecai usually sat when he wanted to be alone. Sure enough, he was there with a bottle of alcohol in his hands and tears in his eyes. I felt my lips turn into a frown as I approached him, but he snapped,

"Lilith, leave me alone!"

Oh, he probably thought I was Lilith. I snickered and spoke,

"Is that anyway to treat me after I just came from hell and back? Damn Mordecai. You're cold."

Almost instantly, it registered in his head that it was me and the bottle was practically rolling off the roof, due to him setting it down and encasing me in a hug. He was sobbing out of happiness with my head against his chest as he wailed,

"Juno! I was so worried about you! I thought I'd never get to see you again!"

"Yeah, me too," I mumbled and squeezed him lovingly. "I told you that wouldn't happen, though. I'd never let myself go like that. I needed to get back to you, and the others." Mordecai released me from his hug and wiped his eyes, giving me a small smile.

"I'm so happy," he breathed out, but the happiness was short lived as he seemed to become depressed yet again. His eyebrows narrowed against his eyes as he moved away from me, looking like he was thinking hard about his next words, but eventually just admitted it, "Blood is dead. The vault hunters went to the Wildlife Preservation, and Jack had... mutated Bloodwing or something. He killed her right in front of their eyes and mine. I couldn't let him take you either. I... I... He's going to pay, Juno. Mark my words."

I bit my lip. Blood was dead? That sweet bird; gone? God damn... I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe Jack. Was that what he was doing yesterday when I was locked up in that cell? Ugh, this pisses me off. I totally regret that kiss now.

"I'm so sorry Mordecai," I told him and rubbed his shoulder. "I know how much that bird meant to you, but we can avenge her death together. She won't die in vain." Mordecai seemed to take a few moments to pull himself together as he forced his head against my shoulder, probably wanting to hide the next round of tears that he faced. I didn't move. I just lifted a hand and patted his back.

"I know," he grumbled under his breath. "She won't die in vain. I won't allow it." With that, he moved his body away from mine and staggered against the roof, glancing around wildly for the alcohol bottle. Well, it was probably on the ground now after knocking a bandit in the head or something. I simply reached out and took his hand in my own, giving him a strong smile.

"Good. I'm glad you're thinking that way. Now come on, let's get downstairs and figure out what the hell is going on," I suggested and began my descent down onto the balcony with Mordecai, hoping and praying to whatever God was above us would be able to help guide Sanctuary to victory.


	15. She's An Angel

_ Almon's P.O.V. _

Thank God. They accepted me. It was probably Lilith that truly convinced Roland to let me join the band of heroes, and how thankful I am to her for showing me kindness. I'm sure if they found out I was a bandit, it would be a different story, but since I'm a siren or whatever, Roland welcomed me with open arms. I finally felt accepted, like a family, and did I love that. Juno eventually came off the roof with some other guy. He seemed pretty distraught throughout the whole meeting Roland and Lilith proposed. He might be going through a tough time, I mean we all kind of were. I just folded my arms across my chest and let them discuss their next moves with Juno's information from being on the Hyperion Space Station. They asked me a few questions as well, which I answered honestly and to the best of my ability. I wanted to ensure they'd win this war, because if Hyperion wiped us all out... I didn't want to think about it.

For some reason, Roland decided to have one of the vault hunters named Salvador travel to Thousand Cuts to attempt in bringing back Brick, the King of Slabs and he decided to throw me into the ring to see what I could do. At first, I was a bit nervous, but this could be a chance to show him what I could do! I happily accepted the mission, and without any further delay, I followed the vault hunter through the treacherous land until we reached our destination. The sun had went down, illuminating a dark abyss filled with stars above us which was quite peaceful, but once the first bullet was fire, the air would be filled with gunshots and screams.

I wondered; why didn't Roland tell Brick we were coming? Why did we have to fight through the never ending waves of bandits? I huffed behind Salvador, gripping tightly onto my gun, but he turned around to look at me, shooting a strange look.

"You good?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah! Sorry, was just thinking," I responded with a curt nod, my dark eyes watching the shorter man while he shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't really have a plan," Salvador explained, observing the few psychos and marauders that paced around on the dirt ground. "Let's just test the waters, and see what Brick has in store for us. It's more exciting that way." A grin split across his lips as he slipped two different types of guns into his hands swiftly, so swiftly I didn't even catch a glimpse of what they were. I ended up moving my shotgun into my hand, ensuring I had my pistol strapped to my waist just in case anything went sour, and then - just like that - Salvador made his shot.

A marauder fell dead, catching the attention of the surrounding bandits. They opened fire on us, upon which I found a barrel to crouch behind. Holding my breath, I stood upwards and quickly shot at a few marauders, two of them falling dead to my bullets. I took the opportunity to shift my hiding spot over behind a large shack-like building, with an ammo and health machine residing inside. Good, they were there just in case I screwed up.

Meanwhile, Salvador just walked through the piles of dead bandits, roaring with laughter as he continued to double wield weapons. I watched him in awe; he was such a badass. Before I could join him in getting rid of some of the bandits, the ECHO Roland gifted me with started to ring. I looked down at it in confusion before lifting it upwards and examining it until a beautiful voice rang through my ears.

"Hello friend! My name is Angel. I'm here to help you," the girl spoke, her image displayed on my ECHO device that caused my heart to throb. I felt my cheeks rush with pink, upon which I hurriedly rubbed my cheeks in hope that it would go away. "You're both doing so well, I'm impressed! Keep going!"

"U-Uhh... Thank you," I tried to force words out of my mouth, but they ended up sounding more like a jumbled up mess. "It's, uh, nice to meet you, Angel."

"Likewise, friend! Be safe!" the girl named Angel chirped happily before the call disconnected. I held up the ECHO device to my chest, feeling my heart rapidly beat in my chest and a smile attached itself onto my face. God, she was bloody perfect -

Clink!

A bullet ricocheted off the metal behind my head and dove into the dusty earth; crap! I nearly forgot we were in the middle of a fight! Gripping my gun, I sent a few bullets at the attacker before they fell dead, and rushed to catch up with Salvador, whom looked like he was having the time of his life. He reminded me of those bandits I would see back at my old home, but he was probably a lot nicer... right?

Regardless, after the relentless attacks made by the bandits, Salvador and I arrived at the top of Thousand Cuts, where Brick awaited us. He was tall, buff - pretty scary to look at - and once he hopped down to meet us... Hell, I thought I was the tallest being on Pandora. I let Salvador do the talking, listening to him explain how Roland requested his presence back in Sanctuary, and Brick described how much of an idiot he felt by sending his bandits to attack us earlier on. Yeah, duh.

"And who is this kid? I've never seen him before!" Brick suddenly spoke, shooting a grin in my direction. Ah, crap. I totally wasn't paying attention. I stood up straight and nodded my head, introducing myself,

"My name is Almon. I was a siren captured by Handsome Jack, but Juno helped me escape and -"

"Aha! Juno did?" Brick started to laugh and shook his head. "That girl is something else, lemme tell you that. I've known her since she was six years old, and I knew she had that fire inside of her. I just knew it."

"She's pretty... interesting," was all I could say on the subject. She was pretty cool, I'd admit that much. I could definitely see us becoming friends later on down the road.

"And a siren, eh?" Brick commented, folding his arms over his chest. "Haven't come across any male sirens before. That's interesting." He squinted his eyes as he pointed a finger in my face. "Did ya paint the markings on?"

"N-No! I don't even know how to paint!" I squeaked in response, my dark eyes widening before Brick took a step back and resumed his friendly attitude with a laugh.

"Neither can I! Looks like shit when I do," he chuckled, but our conversation was cut short when there was a loud bang from outside. It sounded like... mortar fire! I remember hearing it when I was out in the Dust. We used to run like hell, and get under shelter immediately to hide from the horrifying circles on the ground that meant our certain doom. "Oh, Hyperion is jealous we're having a party! C'mon, both of you. You help me, and I'll help you!"

Without delay, Salvador and I went to work blowing up the beeping beacons. It was a tough job, since Helios kept firing robots in our direction, but within moments, the beacons were destroyed into bits and we were safe for now. I panted and wiped my hand across my forehead, meeting up with Salvador and Brick as they began to leave the area to Sanctuary. However, before I got too close to them, my ECHO went off again. My heart began to race; could it be Angel?

"Congratulations on finding Brick! He'll definitely help you defeat Handsome Jack!" her voice rang through the little box, causing my lips to curl into a smile.

"Thanks Angel," I heard myself say. "It means a lot!"

"Of course! You're one step closer to getting the vault key. Don't give up!" was all she responded afterwards and disappeared yet again. God, why couldn't I just be smooth and be like, "Hey, wanna go out sometime?" Because that would probably be stupid. I mean, we were in the middle of a war and besides, I was... me. Who would want to go out with some blue marked freak? I sighed and tucked my ECHO into my belt before following the others out.


	16. A New Opportunity

_ Juno's P.O.V. _

Once Salvador and Almon returned from their mission of retrieving Brick, we were all gathered around the war table to discuss the next missions that were to be distributed among the vault hunters. I rocked on my heels anxiously, standing in-between Zero and Almon. Zero didn't seem to mind me rocking, and Almon actually joined with me, which caused me to giggle until I realized Roland's eyes were glued on us two. We immediately stopped, maintaining serious faces while Roland began,

"Alright. So, our next move is to infiltrate the bunker where Angel is, since she claims she has the vault key and has been charging it this whole time -"

"How is that possible? Is she okay?" Almon went to ask, his face clouded with worry which made my jaw drop. Aw! Was he starting to have feelings for her? I squinted up at him with a sly smile and Roland responded,

"She's fine. She's a siren."

"That makes two of us," Almon murmured with a smile and looked down at his shoes. Hm. Maybe I'll ask him about it later.

"Anyway, the only way for us to get into where Angel is will be tricky. The door is locked and will only open for Jack. We need to emulate his voice somehow, and Angel gave us an idea to find a stunt double in Opportunity, record his voice, and then continue on with our infiltration," Roland explained to all of us.

" We decided to give you all specific missions around this main quest," Lilith picked up where he left off, folding her arms over her chest. "Axton, you're going to Moxxi for the time being. She has a specific mission for you about destroying Jack's underdome. Maya and Zero, you'll be heading to Thousand Cuts to help us clear a path for when we start going up to Angel. Salvador, sorry but you're going to Claptrap about some statues that need to be destroyed - " Salvador groaned at this. "That leaves my two little babies." She faced us with a grin. "Don't make me regret this, but you're going to kill the body double of Jack and getting us his voice."

My face lit up; hell yes! We got the best mission!

"You won't regret this!" I chirped with a grin. "Almon and I will get that voice emulator for sure!" Lilith smiled and nodded before saying,

"Well? Get out there!"

The vault hunters rushed downstairs to exit and begin their missions, but before I left, I walked over to Lilith and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned towards me and tilted her head, silently asking me what was wrong.

"Please keep an eye on Mordecai for me," I whispered to her. "He's not taking Bloodwing's death easy at all."

"I noticed," Lilith muttered and looked towards Mordecai with a frown. He was plopped down in one of the chairs around the war table, just looking like he had died inside. I felt so bad for him, and I wish I could help him feel better, but losing someone that you love... There is nothing that could be done to repair his heart from being shattered. "I'll do my best. Get back safe, okay?"

"You know me," I told her with a wink, before beckoning Almon to follow me. He seemed excited, but before we got too far, I grabbed him by the arm and poked him on the chest. "Sooo.. You and Angel, hmm?"

"W-What do you mean?" Almon asked, his face becoming bright red.

"Oh my God, you totally like her!" I gasped and squeezed him into a hug with a gigantic smile. "Weeeell... We'll get to see her soon! Maybe she'll even come stay with us, and ugh! You'd be so cute together!" I continued to ramble on and on as we walked to the Fast Travel Station, upon which Almon eventually held a finger over my lips and forced a smile onto his face.

"Maybe we should focus on our mission?" he suggested.

"Hm. You're boring," I stuck out my tongue at him before inputting the coordinates in for the bridge outside of Opportunity. "Hey, Almon? Wanna hear a joke?"

"Yeah."

"Knock knock."

"Who's there?"

"Opportunity."

"Opportunity who?"

"Wait!" I gasped, pausing. "That is impossible. Opportunity doesn't come knocking twice." It took Almon a moment to get it, but then he shook his head and smirked.

"That was so bad," he commented.

"Hmmmph, I tried," I laughed as I smacked the travel button, and soon, we found ourselves out on the bridge. The air was cool and salty from the water surrounding us, although the sun beat down onto our bodies. I fixed my hat upon my head and then, the two of us began our trek into the dangerous city of Opportunity.


	17. Double Trouble

Opportunity was... wow. Something else, let me tell you that, but I sort of expected the under construction city to have Jack's face plastered everywhere. There were statues built in his likeness, propaganda signs and poster boards of him - it was so over the top. My head began to hurt just glancing at the gleaming city filled to the brim with just Jack, and Almon's face copied my disgusted look. Maybe we should've let the other vault hunters deal with this nonsense. I gathered my senses and moved away from the Fast Travel Station, whipping out my ECHO device to examine the location of the Jack double. He seemed to be in the center of the city; yippie. I turned to give Almon a smile and asked him,

"Ready to go?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," the man replied as he began to load his weapons, ensuring they'd be ready for when we needed to use them. "This place gives me the creeps. It feels like Jack is watching us wherever we go." His deep colored eyes darted towards the bronze-gold statue of Jack and shuddered at the sight of it. Reaching up, I patted his shoulder and attempted to reassure his worries.

"Hey, we got this. We just need to slip in, grab that Jack double and make him talk," I tried to sound funny, upon which Almon suppressed a chuckle and gave a nod of his head.

"Yeah. Doesn't sound too hard," he sarcastically remarked as we commenced walking through Opportunity. I first spotted a lone engineer, pacing around the floor by the first statue and went to aim my rifle, but Almon pulled my weapon back with a disapproving shake.

"What gives?" I questioned him.

"There has to be more of them hiding somewhere. You shoot him, it's gonna be game over for us," he explained to me. "Leave him be. Let's just go find the double and get out of here."

"Where is the fun in that?" I pouted, before eventually giving into what he advised. It made sense, and I really didn't want us to get killed. "Lead the way, boring boy." He made a face, which made me snicker and I poked him teasingly in the cheek. "N'awww, cheer up Ally!"

"Don't call me that," Almon grumbled. "Almon is already worse enough."

"Okay Al," I shot back at him, knowing perfectly well I was annoying him. Almon simply rolled his eyes and continued sneaking along the wall. We kept at it for a while, nearly dodging a turret on the ceiling before arriving at yet another statue of Jack. This one, however, was different from the one we saw. He was holding a vault key, like it was a baby.

"Oh my God," I laughed, clearly amused before moving behind the statue and out of the view of the gun loaders surrounding the area. The Opportunity Square was directly in front of us, and that's where my ECHO device read the double was. Within it, enemies crawled about. There was no way out of this one. We'd have to fight them.

"How do you wanna do this?" Almon read my mind, keeping his voice low so no one could hear us. Upon hearing him, I looked at the man with one eyebrow elevated.

"Really?" I asked back. "You don't know me well enough to know that I don't plan things out?"

"You wanna rush them?" Almon seemed baffled. "Juno, uhm, I think it would be better if-"

"Trust me, Almon," I tried again and smiled. "I know what I'm doing. Just help me get rid of the loaders and the engineers first, before tackling the double."

"Sounds... kind of like a plan?" he questioned my idea, but took out his corrosive damaging assault rifle crafted by Dahl. I, on the other hand, used my sniper rifle. I took aim at one of the engineer's heads and remembered what Mordecai taught me. I closed my eyes, taking in a deep breath before opening the and took my shot. The engineer couldn't even scream out in agony as he hit the ground, dead. I grinned to myself; a perfect shot. This caught the attention of the others, and they swiftly charged us. Almon crouched down behind a bush, shooting the corrosive bullets through the loader's armor, ultimately melting them to their death. I assisted him by taking out the engineers, and eventually, we found ourselves surrounded by dead engineers and sputtering robots. Pushing a lock of blonde hair aside and straightening my goggles, I let out a satisfied sigh. That was fun! However, before I could even talk, my ECHO began to ring. Oh, who could it be now?

"Wanna do the honors of killing the double? This may be important," I suggested to Almon, who accepted and moved down the steps to hunt out the decoy. I dove down into the bushes and pulled out my device, accepting the call. I figured it was either Lilith or Mordecai asking us how the mission was going, or Angel giving us advice, but instead-

"Hiya pumpkin!"

I rolled my eyes.

"I see you found my beloved Opportunity, hm? Do you love it? I love it," Jack cooed.

"Mmm, I'm gonna have to disagree, but I'm sure all of the Handsome Jack fanboys will love it," I remarked.

"Aw, you aren't a fan of me? I mean, you let me kiss you so that has to count for something," Jack pointed out and made my cheeks flush with crimson. Dammit! Did he really have to remind me about that?

"I was forced," was the first thing I could think of to spit back in his face. "Anyway, don't you have something to do other than bug me?"

"Hmmm... Yeah, actually. I got way better things to do, but here I am," he responded almost immediately. "I'm onto your little plan, by the way. You're trying to reach Angel, aren't you?"

"You wouldn't have to question me if you knew our plans," I blankly shot back, rolling my eyes.

"Getting feisty, huh?" the man answered. "I like it."

"Okay. Look, I gotta get back to Almon and make sure he wasn't murdered. Toodles." Without hearing anything else he had to say, I hung up and sighed, simply staring at my ECHO. Why did I get these feelings? I really hated them. I wish they would go away and never come back. That sounded like heaven compared to what I felt-

"Juno? Who were you talking to?" Almon asked, popping up behind me with the double's pocket watch in his hand. I nearly jumped out of my skin with a yelp, and then nervously tucked my ECHO back onto my belt, stammering,

"A-A-Ah! No one, uh, Mordecai was just checking in!"

Almon didn't seem to believe me as he squinted his eyes.

"Juno, I heard you talking to Jack."


	18. Becoming the Enemy

"Me? Talking to Jack, uh- Yeah!" I stammered, clambering up onto my legs and shoved the ECHO device into the back of my pockets. I could just play it off like he was being the asshole that he was threatening me, but if Almon was able to hear his voice, then Almon for sure could make out what he was saying. I could only hope that he didn't catch on. "He was just being his regular asshole self, you know how he is!" I released a little laugh, rubbing the back of my neck while Almon stared daggers at me. Oh, crap. He didn't believe me.

"Juno... You know how I like Angel, right?" Almon asked quietly, his cheeks flushing with pink just at the mention of that beautiful girl that he couldn't seem to get off his mind. "You like Jack, don't you?"

My face immediately went red; why would he automatically assume that? He.. He couldn't be serious! I couldn't be serious! Ugh, why did it sound so bad when Almon asked me? I couldn't help what my heart and mind felt about this whole situation, but still, there was something about the way Almon asked that made my skin crawl.

"M-Me? Like Jack? Handsome Jack, the one we are going to kill?" I questioned in disbelief, a little laugh surpassing my lips. "No, never! I would never like that man! He's so... old!"

"...Then why did you let him kiss you?" Almon whispered, folding his arms over his chest as he closed his eyes. "Juno, just be honest with me. That night we escaped from Helios, something happened while I was in that escape pod, didn't it?"

I bit my lip. I couldn't keep pulling excuses out of the hat, especially if they didn't make any sense. I needed to be honest with him, no matter how much it pained me to admit my feelings for Jack. It wasn't fair. Why couldn't I gain feelings for - oh, some random bandit! A bandit would be better than Jack!

"...Almon, I do, okay? I like Jack. Don't tell the others, please. They would hate me, and I'd probably never get a shot at leaving Sanctuary ever again. Please keep this between us, please," I begged Almon, grasping onto his muscular arms with my small hands. My hazel eyes stared up at the male, pleading with the man, who ended up releasing a hiss of a sigh and snapped his gaze away from the woman.

"Jack is not a good man. He isn't. I don't know what you could possibly see in him, unless he brainwashed you too," Almon commented, upon which I spoke,

"No, no! He did nothing! That night we were at Helios, he took me around and... I actually had fun. I know it's weird to admit, but he was nice to me and held me and when he kissed me, literally felt fireworks going off. Don't know if you ever felt that, but damn, it's making it really hard not to go up to Helios and-"

"I got the picture, Juno."

"Yeah, sorry."

There was a moment of hesitation between the two, before Almon nudged me with his arm and smiled.

"I won't tell anyone. Your secret is safe with me, kiddo," he said. I leaped up at him, wrapping my arms around the taller male tightly, giving him the biggest embrace I possibly could and all the while, Almon was being dragged down to my height, grunting from the weight. "J-Juno, you aren't five! Get off!"

"Oh, thank you, thank you Almon!" I chirped with a gigantic smile. "And don't you worry, I am a strong girl! I can take care of myself!" Almon released a chuckle and shook his head.

Finally, we were able to return to the mission. Getting the voice emulator was no issue, however the snipers inside of the little area were a bit difficult to take down. Almon lost his shield several times, while I tried my hardest to take them down. Luckily, we were successful and completed the mission. Suddenly, our ECHO devices chimed in unison as Angel's voice ran out,

"You did it! That voice emulator will make you sound exactly like Jack and it's made you one step closer to getting the vault key. One of you will have to wear it, unfortunately."

"Oh my freaking God!" I snorted and quickly putting it on. My high, energetic voice was replaced with Jack's as I said, "Look at me, I'm Jack! I'm a big baby!"

"Juno!" Almon snickered. "I guess you want to wear it."

"Oh heck yeah! I'm gonna freak out Mordecai!" I laughed as the two of us sped out of Opportunity and towards Sanctuary, although there would be a surprise waiting for us when we arrived.


	19. A Vault Hunter's Promise

When we returned to Sanctuary, it was.. Empty? Well, of course there were pedestrians walking around aimlessly, banging on the walls and doors and stuff, but that was normal. The real mystery was - where was everyone? Roland, Lilith, Mordecai - they were all gone! Even the vault hunters were missing, and none were answering their ECHOS. Running a hand through my blonde hair, I released an annoyed huff and muttered,

"Well Almon, I know Roland wouldn't continue the mission without us - or maybe he would. Screw him if he did!"

"Where was the mission at?" Almon asked, peeking over my shoulder at the map displayed on the touchscreen in front of them. I moved my fingers around, zooming in on the location and whispered,

"Thousand Cuts? They have to be there, then! God, I'm gonna kill Roland."

"Why would he go without the voice emulator? And without checking in?" Almon inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"We're running out of time, I know that much and maybe... Oh!" I gasped, clasping my hands together firmly with a gigantic smile. "He did it because he trusts me, he must! Think about it. If he hadn't, they would've waited for me, but they figured I'd get the emulator and I did!"

"You mean we," Almon corrected me with a smirk.

"Yes, sorry! Got way too excited there," I immediately apologized, before grasping a hold of Almon's hand like a child. "Come on, come on! We gotta get down to Thousand Cuts! They are counting on us-"

Finally, my ECHO went off. Gasping, I swiftly yanked it out and answered it, and the voice I heard relieved me.

"Hey Juno, you got the emulator?" Roland's voice echoed through.

"Yes, we got it! We're heading there now - why didn't you wait for us?" I responded, placing one hand on my hip.

"Oh, we figured you got it covered," the man laughed through the speaker. "And it seems we were right, but you gotta hurry. We need you guys."

"We are on our way!" I answered, a chirp in my voice as I hung up. That made me so happy. I finally felt reliable, trustworthy, and like a real vault hunter! Grinning to myself, I imagined all the adventures I'd have as the newest hunter. Maybe Almon would come with me, and they could explore other worlds in search of vaults. That sounded like-

"Juno, you comin'?" Almon asked me, his body out the door, yet his head was still in. Giggling, I nodded and trotted after the male as fast as I could. This was finally the life I wanted to live, and I couldn't wait for this war to be over so I could be at my full potential.

While we waited at the Fast Travel Station, I rocked on my heels and turned to look up at Almon, a grin on my lips. Almon glanced down at me, groaning and asked,

"Oh boy, what's on your mind?"

"Almon, I was thinking after we defeat Hyperion, would you like to travel the world with me as a vault hunter? Being solo seems too lonely now, and I like you a lot, so will you?" I questioned, giving him a bright-eyed look.

"Hmm... Yeah. Sounds good," Almon chuckled in response and went to press the button on the station, which would ultimately sent them in front of the entrance to Thousand Cuts, but before he could press it, I grasped his arm.

"Pinkie promise me," I told him, holding up my pinkie. "If you don't, then I know you're lying to me!"

"Juno, you're not a child-"

"I know, but I want you to keep your promise. Promise you'll become a vault hunter with me."

Almon gave me a look, his expression showing that he was thinking about the offer. I looked expectantly at him, hoping that he would promise her such a thing, and to my excitement, he wrapped his finger around my own.

"I promise, Juno. Let's become vault hunters," he promised me.

"Yay! We should give each other cool nicknames, like you can be swirly hands and I can be bullseye!" I spoke up as Almon pressed the button, giving me a roll of his eyes. The machine sputtered, sending electric sparks to eject our bodies towards Thousand Cuts, but before we disappeared completely, Almon snickered,

"Let's just go by Almon and Juno."


	20. Where Angels Fear to Tread

Certainly, we realized why Lilith needed us so badly up at the bunker, where Angel resided. After Almon talked the bandits into letting us go through their little town without being harmed, we raced over bumpy hills of soot and halted at the base of the bunker, which was on a little stretch of road with blockers in the middle, preventing cars from passing through. Silly thing, why was it a road then? However, what caught our attention was the gigantic flying robot circling the top of the bunker. Buzzards flew around shooting at it relentlessly, but we didn't seem to do much damage. This wasn't what I expected, but I wasn't going to back down from a fight.

"Scared?" I teased Almon as we continued to race up the road, that eventually twisted around and let to a gate.

"Never. This is actually so exciting! We are getting so close to seeing Angel and I cannot wait!" Almon told me with a beaming smile. "I hope we can save her. I really do." Giving him a genuine smile, I spoke,

"We're gonna do our best to rescue her. I promise, Almon."

I could sense how Almon felt about Angel, and it was sweet. They were both sirens, along with Maya, but I was sure Almon felt more intune with Angel. He wanted someone he could relate to, and she was the closest thing. It was so adorable. The sentries that were once plastered on the door had been shot down, and their remains dashed on the ground. Someone must've been here already. It was the same for the rest of the area. Dead workers and robots laid around like a junkyard, but it at least gave me some time to stock up on ammo, since I strongly suggested to Almon I'd be fine, and ignored going to the ammo dump before hand. Oh well, I'm stubborn. What can I do?

"This is why I told you to buy some at the duuuump!"

"Shut up!" I shot back at him, a smile growing on my face as I stood up. "I'm done, anyway. Let's keep going."

Once we finished gathering what we needed, we proceeded to climb our way up towards the bunker. It was a dangerous climb, as one fatal slip and we could fall down, but we eventually arrived at their destination. The whirring of the robots in the area was overwhelmingly loud, and the gunshots caused our ears to ring. Quickly, we raced up the stairs, shooting down some EXP loaders, so they wouldn't sneak up on us, and when we arrived -

"Holy- That is a huge ass robot!" Almon remarked at the flying hunk of metal right in front of us. It immediately opened fire, upon which I used my skill to reflect the bullets, protecting Almon and myself.

"Find cover, quick!" I told Almon, who quickly dove behind a few boxes on the ground. I whipped out my pistol, shooting a few rounds into the enemy before it took off, flying into the distance while buzzards pursued it.

"Juno, Almon!" Maya called out, waving us over. "Take cover, it's going to come back and fire mortars at us!"

"Yeah, we almost got 'em down!" Axton told us as we raced over to the friendly faces of the vault hunters, including Zero who watched the robot fly around in the sky, and Salvador loaded his guns with more ammo. "I think we just need a few more hits, and we'll be good."

"With these babies?" Salavador gestured to his guns with a laugh. "I only need two shots."

"So, what's the plan?" Almon asked them, folding his arms over his chest.

"Our real issue is the loaders that keep showing up and depleting our shields. Can you watch our backs and get rid of them?" Maya suggested.

"Deal!" I answered with a grin. "You can count on us, Maya!" Maya gave us both a warm smile, before the whirring of the flying robot came closer and closer. Almon and I took cover like the professionals said, but once the robot stopped, we went to work taking down the loaders. We worked magnificently well together. Almon would summon a miniature vault, sucking in the enemy while I would leap through and deliver the final blow. On occasion, I would use my skill to protect Almon from getting shot at, while he finished off the enemies. Before they knew it, the flying robot laid dead, and we were successful yet again.

"It's dead? Good job, vault hunters! Head inside to Angel's quarters. I'll be there soon!" Roland's voice echoed through their devices, upon which my smile grew. Another successful victory, and I was so proud of all of them!

"Who's going to be Jack?" Axton asked.

"Me, me! Oh pick me!" I responded as I placed on the items I needed for the disguise. Spinning around in a circle, I spoke in Jack's voice, "Heya pumpkin, Jack here!"

"...That is so creepy," Maya muttered under her breath. "Alright, come on. Let's get this over with." The vault hunters trailed down the stairs, arriving at the door they all initially saw before battling the flying robot. There was a sort of elevator to the back, which I swiftly stepped into and pressed the big, shiny button on my right side.

"Preparing bio-scan. Please stand on the Hyperion emblem," a woman's voice rang through the speakers. I did as I was told, standing still and a blue beam of light coated over me, scanning my body. Oh, I hoped this would work. The vault hunters held their breaths, and let them out when they heard, "Bio-signature confirmed: hello sexy. Awaiting password."

"Hello sexy?" I grumbled under my breath, before blinking. "Wait, password? We didn't-"

"I know the password," Angel spoke through her ECHO. "It's... I love you." I love you? Huh. I bit my lip as I pressed down on the button yet again and spoke clearly,

"I love you."

"Access granted."

"Hell yeah!" Salvador cheered in the background. "We did it!"

"Awesome work, you two!" Maya smiled as she ruffled up my hair. "C'mon, let's go."

"Wait, us?" Almon asked.

"You're letting us come?!" I gasped.

"Yeah? You're vault hunters, after all!" she responded with a smile. "And Juno, take that stuff off." I gasped and smashed the pocket watch, as well as the emulator. No way did I want to be caught wearing that stuff ever again. As the vault hunters went in, I puffed out my chest and grinned up at Almon.

"We're vault hunters! She called us vault hunters!" I cheered.

"Yes, and they're gonna leave us behind if we don't hurry up!" Almon chuckled as he grabbed me by the wrist, dragging me into the depths of Angel's chambers, eager to meet the siren once and for all.


	21. A Tragic Situation

_Almon's P.O.V._

To put it in simple terms, Angel was absolutely gorgeous. From her stunning eyes, to her gorgeous dark hair, she was a sight to behold. The second I laid his eyes on her, I swore my eyes turned into literal hearts. She made my heart throb, even just by looking into her soft eyes. While the vault hunters scoped out the pixelated world, Angel's eyes plastered themselves on my own, giving me a sweet smile. All the while, Juno watched from the sidelines, ensuring no guards got through at the door.

"You're... like me," Angel whispered, holding out her hands to scoop mine into her own. "I have never met a male siren before."

"And I have never met a siren as beautiful as you," I admitted to her, my cheeks heating up. I felt a lump in my throat, she wasn't safe here. I needed to protect her, I couldn't allow her to stay in such a dangerous place in the hands of such a terrifying man. "Come with us. We can protect you."

Sadly, the female siren shook her head. I could feel my heart sink deeply into my chest from sadness.

"I cannot. I need to stay or else.." Angel admitted. "...I will die. My body has been wasted charging the vault key. Without it, my body will crumble."

"Angel, no! You... You can't die!" I gasped out, grasping onto her. "Please, Angel. Let me help you. I can-" Suddenly, she was ripped from my grasp and taken back, her screams echoed through the room to reveal a circular room with Angel in the middle, stuck in a cylinder with eridian being pumped into her, and the vault key right above her.

"Don't you touch my daughter!" the familiar voice of Jack boomed from the screens that were plastered on the walls, as well as a very angry Jack. I clenched my fists, but a hand laid on my shoulder. It was Maya. She gave me a slow nod and told me,

"We must set Angel free. That's how we can help her." My heart felt like a heavy stone in my chest, but I knew there was no way to get around this. In order to save Angel, we needed to puncture the eridian pumps, and without the eridian, Angel would die. This decision would kill me, but I needed to rescue her. Without giving a second thought, I loaded my shotgun and proceeded to blast the pumps.

_Juno's P.O.V._

Oh God. We're going to have to kill Angel. I couldn't believe it, nor fathom how horrible Almon felt about this. I knew how much he adored her, and now, it appeared that we'd have to end her life. Loaders appeared on the floor, the vault hunters viciously attacking them while I took cover behind a large pillar-like structure that sparked with shock. Although, I didn't notice it at the time. I tried my best to aim at the loaders, taking one down along with Zero's help, and after a few moments on the battlefield, a voice boomed,

"Hey guys!"

"Roland!" Axton called out. "What are you doing up there?" I looked up, noticing Roland's figure standing on the bridge near the pumps. Giving him a grin, I called up,

"Hey Roland!"

"Juno, you good?" Roland asked. "Hold on, I'm lowering the shields for the pumps!" Once he fiddled with the controls, one of the shields lowered and Almon took it upon himself to pound into the pump. It collapsed, the liquid pouring out as Angel screamed in pain. My eyes squeezed shut, the screams echoed in and out of my ears. The sheer amount of pain she was in completely wrecked me, and I'm sure it did the same for Almon.

"Keep going! Just two more!" Angel urged us on.

"Don't you know what you're doing? That's my-" Jack went to scream on through the monitors, but then I felt his eyes fall onto me. I just stared back at him, unsure of what to say, or if I could even say reconcile the actions we were doing, but he snapped, "Juno, what are you doing?!"

"Saving Angel, what does it look like?" I shot back, aiming my gun up towards one of the turrants that popped through the ceiling.

"I thought you were different than this, Juno! Do you even remember anything we talked about?" Jack huffed, which caused Maya to cease fighting as she turned to look at me.

"Juno, what does he mean?" she asked.

"Nothing! He's trying to-" I went to say, but Almon shot the next pump. Angel let out another scream; one more, and this was all over.

"Stop! You're going to end the life of an innocent girl!" Jack shouted at us, while Angel produced a rebuttal,

"Don't stop. He ended my life a long time ago."

I didn't know what to do. For once in my life, I felt my body freeze up. Could I really keep doing this? It would tear Jack up inside. I... I didn't know what to do. As I sat on the floor, staring at my gun while the sound of gunfire went off around me, I didn't notice one of the loaders attack the pillar next to me. The shock depleted my shield, attacking my flesh instead. The pain was excruciating, causing me to cry out in pain and then, that's when everything went black. The only thing I remember is Almon yelling my name, mixed in with Jack's frantic cries of,

"Juno- Juno no, get up!"

I was so tired. I didn't want to get up anymore.


	22. Armed and Ready

Dreams rippled in and out of my mind, like a pond with a pebble thrown into it. They were all so surreal, except for that one I had with a dancing skag in a tuxedo carrying a bouquet of flowers in its jaws. There was one in particular that I had, and I don't think I could forget it. I was standing in the middle of a dusty road, staring out onto the mountains. There was nothing for miles, but slowly, shadows began to creep up. Two people, one shorter than the other; their shadows cast on the mountains like a light show. One of them let out a little laugh and whispered,

"Juno Monroe, we heard all about you-"

And then, I woke up. I sat up violently in my bed, smacking my head against the bunk bed right above me. I let out a cry of pain, holding my hands over the bruising area while hissing,

"Shit, who put that bed there?!"

Groaning, I collapsed out of the bed and pulled myself together, wobbling onto my legs. What the hell happened? All I remember was.. Angel! Almon! The vault key! I tried my hardest to race towards the meeting room, but nearly fell over in the process. Grasping a hold of the wall, I practically dragged myself inside and took a look around. Mordecai was asleep in a chair, holding a bottle of liquor in his hands and a photograph. Slowly moving my way over, I tapped Mordecai on his head, upon which it was his time to sputter awake. The bottle fell onto the ground, the photo flew up in the air as he yelped,

"What the- Juno!"

His arms flew around me, pulling me into a tight hug. I let out a gasp, taken back while I grumbled,

"Easy Mordecai. Not like I died."

Mordecai slowly pulled away, giving me a look over and then commented,

"We thought you were dead for the longest time, but I knew you'd pull through. I knew it. My girl..."

Mordecai ran his fingers through my hair and embraced me firmly yet again, causing me to screech and wave my hands at him.

"Mordecai, can't breath!" I said, muffled. The sniper released a gasp and quickly let me go, so I could catch my breath. "Geesh.. How long was I asleep?"

"Uh.." Mordecai grumbled and trudged over to a nearby calendar, counting the days. "Nearly three weeks."

"Three weeks- What?!" I shouted.

"Maya said you got electrocuted pretty hard," Mordecai explained. "Thank God you made it, but I got some bad news. Jack got the vault key and Lilith. He ambushed the vault hunters after you passed out, and he.."

Mordecai took in a deep breath.

"...He shot Roland. Roland is dead."

No, no, no! No way could Roland be dead. He was a soldier, a tough guy. He could fight through anything. I didn't believe it for one second, but from seeing the seriousness in Mordecai's face, I knew that he had to be telling the truth. Tears hit my eyes as I sniffled, wiping them aside with my sleeve and whispered,

"I wish I could've said good-bye. I... I miss him."

"Hey, hey. Don't cry," he cooed and patted my head softly. "Roland actually, well, he left you something. He told me about it before he left for Thousand Cuts. You should read it. It's in the safe."

Nodding my head, I did a sad waddle back towards the beds, and where the safe was implanted into the wall. Sliding it open, my fingers reached for a piece of paper tucked into the darkness and unfolded it, reading the semi-neat handwriting,

_Juno, _

_I'm not one for good-byes. I'm worried this might be my last time on this planet, so I decided to write you a letter. I've known you since you were a little girl, and you've grown in such a positive way. Despite you being stubborn or headstrong on occasion, you show true potential at becoming a true vault hunter and I am just so proud of you. _

_Take care of Lilith. She cares more about you than you know. Remember to play games with Tina and Brick. They'll love you for that. Keep Mordecai busy. You're like a kid to him. Most importantly, watch after Almon. He has potential to join you in the ranks of being a vault hunter, and I would be so proud of both of you if you became one. _

_End Jack. The fate of Pandora rests in your hands. _

_\- Roland_

God, he was going to make me cry all over again, mostly because his words meant so much to me. Typically, he'd scold me for my behavior, but now? He was praising me. I was going to miss him terribly, but I was going to make him proud. I was going to end Jack, no matter how my feelings were placed on the man. He needed to go.

"Mordecai, where is everyone?" I decided to ask, pacing back into the room.

"Preparing to stop Jack," Mordecai responded. I looked at him, blinking, confused. "Oh, right. We got through the eridum mine, and we know where the vault is. Brick and Almon should be back shortly from doing some missions, but afterwards, we were going to head down and end this."

"Mordecai, I'm coming with you. I want to help," I brought up, but before he could say anything, I held up my hand. "Jack killed me once. I've become stronger. I can handle this alien vault, and I can handle Jack. I'm coming, whether you like it or not."

Mordecai fell silent for just a brief moment, until he let out a snort and ruffled up my hair.

"Alright pipsqueak. You're coming with us."


	23. The Hero's Pass

This was it, the climax of the story, the finale, the last battle. Everything was riding on the outcome of this battle, and the air was deathly thin. We didn't know if we would pull this off. We didn't know if we'd die, and let Jack continue on his reign of terror. We didn't know if we'd all die within the vault - we didn't know. Uncertainty was terrifying, and never before in my life had I felt scared. Not only because I woke up not too long ago, but the fact that this was all happening so fast. I hadn't spoken to Jack about what happened with Angel, I never got to say good-bye to Roland... I felt like I missed out on so much.

Nudging me out of my thoughts, Mordecai parked the vehicle he drove up to the large set of stairs that led to the Hero's Pass, the final area before the vault. He informed me that Almon, Brick and the vault hunters were currently fighting their way through it, and we'd be tying any loose ends.

"You ready, kid?" Mordecai asked as he hopped out of the vehicle, clocking his rifle.

"As ready as I'll ever be!" I answered, holding my pistol in my hand. "Man, this is it, Mordecai. Are _you _sure you're ready?" I flashed him a grin, upon which Mordecai let out a chuckle.

"I don't even know. I'm gonna give it my all, that's for damn sure. For Blood, and for Roland," Mordecai stated and walked forward, heading towards the entrance of Hero's Pass. Loader bits and pieces scattered around the area, as well as limbs from dead Hyperion workers. The amount of blood was... wow. There must've been a lot of enemies, but obviously it was nothing that they couldn't handle.

"Remember what I taught you," the man beside me spoke as we continued to walk through the desolate wasteland. Nothing moved, nothing attacked us - it was like a graveyard.

"I know Mordecai," I laughed quietly with the shake of my head. "I'll aim for-" Suddenly, there was a loud boom, followed by several gunshots. Gasping, I raced forward and leaped through a large gap between the path, which if I fell, would've been to my death. Just a little ways down, I saw the vault hunters fighting to get a shield down to continue on, but there were so many loaders and two sentries. They needed help!

"Shit, they need to get that shield down!" Mordecai growled and turned to look at me. "Juno, hold them off. I've got a plan. Be back soon!" He raced off the way we came, but I didn't question him. I did as I was told and went on my way to catch up with the others. However, before I came too close, one of the sentries caught me and sent some bullets my way. I managed to dodge them by hiding behind several cargo holds, and ducked down.

I planned on using my skill to run through, but before anything happened, my ECHO started to go off. Who now?

"Juno. You're alive!" Jack's voice rang through. "Thank - I mean, well. Looks like you survived."

"Gee. Don't act so happy to see me," I responded with the roll of my eyes and a small smirk. "So, we're almost to the vault and we're kicking butt. Where are you? Too scared to show your face? I mean, yeah you are because you wear a mask but-"

"Oh, don't worry. I'm coming," Jack snapped. "I'm gonna make sure I murder every single child killer there."

"...Angel is gone?" I whispered under my breath, "Jack, I'm-"

"Don't say it," he growled. "It's their fault. They are going to pay. Once I get my hands on the Warrior, it'll all be over for you."

"Me? Huh, and here I thought we were getting along so well," I smirked to myself. "I mean, I heard what you said before I passed out. You care about me."

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't. You'll never find out," Jack commented back in a sassy tone.

"We'll see when you get your butt down here," was all I said before I hung up, and then stared down at my ECHO. God, I didn't want to kill Jack, but I knew how horrible of a person he was. No matter how this story ended, there was no possible way I could seek remotely a relationship with him, either. We were too different, and it pained me to realize that, but hey. That just meant there was another person for me out there, right?

Maybe.

Shoving my ECHO away, I realized Mordecai had arrived in a large floating ship, chipping away at the defenses of the sentries. Great, we could do this! I rushed forward, using my skill to dodge the bullets and then called out,

"Almon!"

He finished shooting down a loader before looking at me with a huge smile, racing towards me to embrace me in a firm hug.

"Juno, you're okay!" he gasped out. "I was so worried about you!"

"Were you now?" I asked with a little wiggle of my eyebrows, which made Almon immediately let go of me with an eye roll. "Aw, come on! I'm just kidding!"

"Juno, Almon, reunions can wait! we need help!" Axton told us, pounding bullets into a freshly built badass loader. It pummeled it's rockets at us, exploding all around us, but I wasn't going to go down so easy. I raced forward, avoiding the launchers until I was directly in its face. I quickly shot into its weak spot, the loader sparking and whirring from the malfunctions, before eventually it fell onto the ground.

"You just- God, Juno. You never change," Almon growled and ran a hand across his face.

"Legends never die!" I laughed out, before realizing that didn't make any sense. "I-I meant more like, legends never change but.."

"Yeah yeah, just stop while you're ahead," Almon chuckled quietly, but then, the worst thing imaginable happened. A moonshot was fired from Helios, and it went directly into the ship Mordecai was standing on. The explosion went in slow motion, Mordecai's face showing true fear as it slipped down into the crevice below. I screamed, racing forward to the edge, all the while Brick did something I didn't expect him to do. He jumped right after Mordecai, into the darkness that swallowed them both. It was so far down, I didn't even hear any noise when or if they hit the bottom. Tears wouldn't stop falling down my cheeks as I sobbed and cried out for Mordecai and Brick; we already lost Roland and Bloodwing. I couldn't lose them too.

"Shit," Maya whispered.

"We have to keep moving," Axton muttered quietly, shaking his head in sorrow. "We gotta finish this for them."

"I can't leave, I have to stay! What if they need help!" I whimpered out, while Almon wrapped his arms around me.

"Juno, they... they couldn't..." Almon tried to find the correct words, but I knew what he was trying to say. There was no possible way they could survive that crash. They were gone, forever. Sniffling, I stood up on my legs after sometime and growled,

"I'm so sick of losing people. I'm so sick of it. We're going into that vault, and we're going to defeat Jack so no more loved ones have to die."

"I agree," Axton responded. "This has to end now. There is six of us. We outnumber Jack."

"Well, let's get a move on, then!" Salvador cheered, raising his guns in the air. "No use crying anymore! Now's the time to be strong, and kick ass!" I wiped my eyes with a nod. I needed to be strong for Mordecai. It's what he would've wanted.

"Come on," Almon whispered as the others raced on ahead and grasped my hand. "Let's make Mordecai proud." Looking up at him, I gave him a smile and a nod.

"Thank you, Almon," I murmured up to him, before we rushed off to catch up with the others.


	24. The Fate of Pandora

So much happened within the next minutes of exiting the Hero's Pass and entering the Vault of the Warrior. It was incredibly hot, first of all, with lava and vicious fireballs being spewed out all around us. We made sure that none of us fell while we rode the elevator down to the ground floor, and where we could see the familiar shape of the vault. This was it. This was the day we've all been waiting for; when we stop Jack.

"Alright," Maya spoke as we all gathered around her. "This is going to be tough. Make sure your shields are charged, and you have plenty of ammo. It's gonna be a long fight, but I have faith we'll make it out of this alive."

"As do I," Axton said. "I'll set up my turret to help take some of the enemies down. Salvador and Almon, you are our fire power. Get up close to the enemy and take them out. Maya, Juno and Zero, provide support when needed."

"Sounds like a plan!" Salvador grinned and patted Almon on the back. "Looks like it's you and me!"

"Man, this is so nerve wracking. We're actually doing this. We're actually in the vault," Almon just stammered over and over again, obviously excited. Salvador simply laughed at his reaction while the two jumped down towards the vault, followed by the rest of us. Zero and I decided to stay near the back, while Maya took the middle along with Axton, and finally Salvador and Almon in the front. Everyone seemed so quiet and calm, but it vanished when we spotted a familiar figure, hovering above the ground with wings sprouted out-

Lilith!

"Lilith, oh my God!" Maya shouted and raced forward, but before we could get any closer, someone began to materialize close to the control panel nearby Lilith. After the pixels disappeared, it was clear who it was, Handsome Jack. He turned and looked at us, a smirk plastered on his face as he greeted us with,

"Hey, good to see you guys! The key is nearly charged, but before all of that, I'm going to avenge my daughter."

Clones sprouted around us of Handsome Jack, bullets flew everywhere, and we had no idea which one was Jack. Maya quickly brought one of the clones into her phaselock skill, while Almon dragged one into his miniature vault. I ended up utilizing my skill to help Salvador gun down the clones, until one of them remained. Jack.

"Aw shit," he grumbled and all at once, we attacked. I was a bit hesitant, but I had to do this. My bullets sunk into his shield, before it shattered right before his eyes and he quickly disappeared from sight.

"Coward! Come out and fight!" Axton shouted, but it was too late. More clones showed up, but hey. It was nothing we couldn't handle. Actually, it was kind of easy. After Jack died, we could all go home after this in peace, and happiness-

Finally, the last bullet dug into Jack, and he reached his limit. Blood poured from his stomach, seeping onto the floor and as much as I wanted to rush to him and help him, I couldn't. My feet were ground to the floor. I couldn't move from the utter shock I felt. He cried out in pain, but at the same time, Lilith collapsed onto the ground, having finished charging the key. Without any further ado, Jack shoved it into the ground, where it lit up and so did he. Jack cackled with insanity, proclaiming something about the Warrior, and that's when-

"Holy shit," Almon breathed out as an absolute gigantic monster stood before us. It's piercing eyes stared at us, hissing and snarling while it's scorpion-like tail wagged back and forth. So, this was the Warrior. I gulped, but I wasn't going to back down.

"We can do this, guys!" I shouted. "Remember what Axton said!"

"Yeah, let's kick some alien butt!" Salvador cheered, starting the battle of fate. I ducked down behind the control panel, a bit from where Jack and Lilith laid and began to shoot at the beast, but it was too fast. It leaped through the air and into the lava below. The dangerous liquid rose up around the rock, but luckily, we were all safe from it.

"It's gonna come back up, be ready!" Axton shouted to us, keeping us on our toes. As I watched the magma, I heard Jack coughing from afar. Snapping my head over, I realized he was looking directly at me with a crooked grin on his face.

"Did you imagine it would end up this way, pumpkin?" he asked weakly. As he did so, the Warrior rose up from the magma and with its tail, shot out a beam of light from it. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before, but Salvador and Almon seemed to handle it well. They fired away relentlessly, causing the Warrior to sink back into the boiling hot liquid, which made me smirk and look towards Jack.

"Look around, Jack. None of us are dying any time soon, and we're going to defeat your precious Warrior," I told him. "You're going to lose." Jack only chuckled and laid back onto the ground.

"Do you remember what I told you on Helios?" he questioned. "How... no one is the hero? If I die, Juno, I swear to God, there are going to be worse people that are going to screw you over. You're going to get hurt without the protection of me, and Hyperion."

"You've done nothing to protect me," I shook my head in disbelief at what he was saying. "You've only hurt me. Hell, I was so confused with why you even kissed me that one day, and I figured out that... You just tried to manipulate me, didn't you? Just like everyone else. You didn't care." Jack remained silent for a moment, only the sound of gun power filling in for him before he answered,

"Is that what you really think? There were so many times where you were alone, I could've come down to kill you or sent loaders after you. I could've killed you on Helios, I could've killed you so many times, but I didn't."

"...What are you saying?" I asked, elevating one of my eyebrows. Looking up at me with a wide smile, despite all the pain in the world he felt, Jack replied,

"Maybe, just maybe, I felt something for you."

"Oh God," I hissed under my breath, all of a sudden feeling tears in my eyes. This wasn't fair! How could I cope with such information, especially when-

The Warrior. It came crashing down, roaring, the earth quaking with its intense force, and then nothing. Nothing at all except for Salvador's whoops and Almon's yells. We... We did it. The Warrior was finally gone, and we had won. The war with Hyperion was over.

Lilith slowly rose up, and I didn't waste any time rushing into her arms. I was so relieved she was safe, but she surprised me when she whispered,

"We're going to have a long talk about this when we get back to Sanctuary, missie."

"W-What?" I gasped, looking at her. "I-I.. Oh God, you heard everything, didn't you?"

"Yep," Lilith sighed, running her hand through her hair. "Although... I'm proud of you for not doing anything stupid. I've heard stories of the villain manipulating the young hero, but you didn't let that happen for one minute, didn't you?" She looked down at Jack's pitiful self, while he screamed at the vault hunters like a crazed buffoon, before looking back at me. "Besides, he's too old for you."

"Lilith, ugh!" I gasped out. Lilith just smirked and then, her eyes fell on the rest of the vault hunters.

"Who would like the honors of killing Jack? I'll do it myself if I have to," Lilith proceeded to say. Almon took a step back, while the rest remained quiet. They looked at one another, not sure who should take the honors, so with a heavy heart, I raised my hand.

"I'll do it," I spoke up.

"Juno, are you sure?" Lilith asked. At least she could understand murdering someone you had an attraction to would be difficult, but... I wanted to do the honors. Nodding, I grabbed my pistol and went to stand in front of Jack. He stared up at me with pitiful eyes, but I didn't even bother with them anymore. Loading my gun, I aimed it directly at his head before whispering,

"Jack, it's been fun."

"Very fun," he huffed quietly. "I'll miss hearing your voice, Juno."

Tears rolled down my cheeks. Did this really have to happen? Couldn't he just... stay alive and we make an alliance? No, of course not. He had done too much to us, and he deserved to die.

"I-I.." I muttered, but I couldn't get the words out. Instead, I squeezed my eyes and felt the trigger slip against my hand. The sound of a gunshot boomed from my hand, and I heard a faint thud, symbolizing that Handsome Jack had finally fallen. The vault hunters cheered behind me, but I couldn't find a reason to cheer. Freedom was nice, but now that he was gone, I...

"I'm proud of you, kid," Lilith murmured and kissed the side of my head. "I'll give you some time alone. Come outside when you're done." She rubbed my arm singularly, before walking out the rest of the vault hunters. The crackling of fire echoed in my ears, as well as Jack's voice. I would never hear it again, nor would I see him again. I released a sigh and dropped down to my knees, before scooping up his mask and held it within my hands. If it wasn't too grim, perhaps I could keep this to remember him by, and-

I stripped off his jacket. I wanted to keep that as well. I wanted to remember him with everything possible, because I was certain after this, I would never come back to this horrible place. Standing up onto my legs, I bid Jack one final good-bye before exiting the vault and never looking back.


	25. A New Chapter

Finally, we were free. Hyperion was gone, Jack was dead, and Sanctuary rejoiced that evening. Everyone was so happy, especially Lilith. I had never seen her smile so wide, even as she whispered to herself,

"If only Roland could see this."

Thankfully, Mordecai and Brick survived the fall. They arrived at the vault moments after the Warrior fell, and what a happy reunion that was. I was ultimately relieved that they were safe, because I couldn't see Sanctuary being the same without them.

That night, Sanctuary celebrated. Booze was handed out, plates of delicious food were everywhere, there was singing and dancing - what a happy time to be alive. I wanted to join the party, but I just couldn't. I couldn't come down from my bed, snuggled underneath Jack's jacket with tears occasionally falling from my cheeks. It was eerie to think about not hearing his voice ring through my ECHO anymore, and even though at the time it was annoying, now it wasn't. I genuinely missed him.

Lilith and I had that talk. It was a long conversation, and I tried my best to explain my feelings to her. Much to my surprise, she understood how I'd feel that way, but informed me I needed to look after myself, and find someone far better than Jack. I knew she cared about me and wanted what was best for me, but it was just so hard to move on from this.

Besides, I had something else on my mind. I felt from this experience, I wanted to leave Sanctuary. Of course, keep in touch with everyone, but I wanted to explore Pandora. I wanted to be a vault hunter like Roland said, and travel across the stars in search of vaults. It was hard for me to admit that to Lilith, so I was tossing the idea of just running away. I know that would tear them up inside, especially Mordecai, but what else could I do?

I heard footsteps come up the stairs, and Mordecai's familiar voice,

"Hey Juno. I got you some food."

He laid down a bit of delicious smelling food on my bed, as well as some water. I just nodded quietly, not wanting to say anything to him.

"C'mon, Juno. You can talk to me. What's going on?" he asked softly. Tears burned my eyes; I needed to tell him. Sitting up in my bed, I grasped a hold of Jack's jacket and whispered,

"I liked Jack. I didn't want to see him go, but I... I knew he deserved to die because as much as I cared, he was a horrible man. Don't scold me, I already learned my lesson and Lilith and I talked about it, but Mordecai.."

I looked at him when I said this.

"I want to leave Sanctuary with Almon. I want to hunt down vaults, and help people along the way. I don't want to stay cooped up here anymore, I want to go be somebody. As much as it hurts to admit it, Mordecai, I think it's for the best."

Mordecai didn't say anything. He stayed silent, taking in what I told him and I wouldn't be angry at him if he yelled at me. I really wouldn't be. I flinched, ready for a lecture, but instead, I felt his arms wrap around me in a tight hug.

"Juno, if that's what you want, then don't let me stop you. I want you to achieve your dreams, and be the person you want to be," Mordecai whispered quietly. "I'll miss you. I expect you to call me once a day and give me an update-" This caused me to laugh and roll my eyes. "But I'm not going to stop you, Juno. Just... know that you'll always have a home here, Juno and we love you so much."

"I love you too, Mordecai," I told him and embraced him back tightly. "I'll never forget what you did for me, and one day, I might do the same to some other kid. We'll see." Mordecai released a laugh, before letting me go and stood back up.

"Go tell Lil, at least," Mordecai suggested. "Then, get outta here, kid. Go live that vault hunter life."

"Yes sir!" I giggled as I raced out. Yes, yes! This is what I wanted! I was so happy Mordecai was letting me go, and I meant it. I would never forget him, or anyone else. Diving through the crowd, I managed to locate Lilith talking to Moxxi and Axton, upon which I swiftly grabbed her by the arm and dragged her away. She let out a yelp, before giving me a scowl and snapped,

"Juno, what the hell?"

"Lilith, I made a decision," I told her, upon which her eyebrows lifted as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"I'm leaving Sanctuary. I'm going to become a vault hunter. I already spoke to Mordecai about this, and he said it was okay, but I at least wanted to tell you good-bye and just.." I murmured as I wrapped my arms around her. "Thank you so much, Lilith. I'll never forget you." Lilith froze, but slowly embraced me with a smile on her face.

"Take care, Juno," she told me. "And hey, take Almon with you. Not that I don't like him, but he would be a good companion."

"Already way ahead of you!" I laughed and then moved onto my next search, for Almon. He was in the corner, drinking some booze by himself. I skipped over to him, plastering my hands on my hips and greeted him with, "Heya Al!"

"Ugh. Almon," Almon corrected me with a widening grin. "You feeling any better?"

"Why, yes! Yes I am! How kind of you to ask!" I chirped. "And I actually had a , me, vault hunting. Let's go right now!"

"Wait, right now?! I-I need to get my stuff, I need to say bye, I-" Almon stammered. "Hold on!" He quickly raced off, causing me to snort. This was really happening. We were leaving Sanctuary for good. Maybe we'd come back for a few visits, but we'd be on our own. How amazing did that sound! Grinning to myself, I stared up at the Hyperion Station, and the stars that scattered around it. This was a whole new chapter of my life, and I was so thrilled.

Eventually, Almon met me over by the Fast Travel Station with his guns, and anything else he needed. Jack's jacket was tied around my hips, and his mask was buried somewhere in my backpack I carried with me. Letting out an excited sigh, I asked,

"Where to first, vault hunter?"

"I don't know, vault hunter!" Almon responded.

"Hmm... maybe to a vault huntering area?" I questioned.

"Okay, that's enough," Almon laughed quietly before entering coordinates. "Let's just... go wherever Pandora takes us. It's an adventure, after all."

I smiled up at him, and with the nod of my head, I said,

"I'm so excited, Almon."


End file.
